


The Way I Am

by hyaccinth



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, I'm Bad At Summaries, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:37:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyaccinth/pseuds/hyaccinth
Summary: "(...) So I just made up this stupid boyfriend and they all believed me and now my sister is getting married and my mom doesn't want me there unless I bring my boyfriend, which I don't have because I made it all up!""I'll do it," Shiro says it like he's about to sacrifice his life for the president and Lance looks at him like he just told him he's Captain America — which would honestly not be that surprising.AU in which PA!Lance and boss!Shiro  pretend to be dating to Lance's family and fall deeply in love in the process





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i've been writing this story for quite some time now and i wanted to get it out there!! this is an introductory kind of chapter but i hope it interests you enough to look forward to the others!! 
> 
> updates will come every friday (hopefully)

There is something odd about that morning. Lance feels it as soon as he opens his eyes.

He wakes up before six, the alarm still quiet, he’s faced with the plain white ceiling instead of the usual soft pillows. Normally, Lance would go back to sleep, but something in his guts drags him out of bed and makes him get ready for work. The tiny old apartment is silent the entire time, he forgets to put any music on.

Lance doesn’t expect to be struck by cold winds and a sunless sky during mid-spring when he steps outside at a far corner of the city, though that’s exactly what happens. He rolls down the sleeves of his navy blue dress shirt, clutching the strap of the black messenger bag across his chest. Taking the subway in New York is never easy, too many people trying to race against time, too little space, but today not one single person bumped into Lance. Even ordering the usual at the coffee shop down the office’s street feels off somehow, for God’s sake.

He pushes the doors to the towering building’s insides with his left shoulder, holding two warm cups and a small paper bag, and smiles at the security or whoever he stumbles upon on his way to the elevator. Six months of practice and he’s an expert at pressing the 15th floor button with his elbow.

He’s a bit early today, Shiro isn’t expecting him just yet. Lance dumps his bag on the floor next to the chair, kicking it to stay in place, one of the coffees and clipboard already in hands as he makes his way to his boss’ office.

“Good morning, Sir.” Lance puts down the cup in front of the man sitting behind the large thick-glass desk with a rather restricted smile.

He unconsciously runs his now free hand through his hair, trying to fix it as best as he can, the wind had been harsh on his thin, brown hair. He doesn’t catch Shiro following his every movement since he entered the room.

“Morning, Lance,” Shiro smiles faintly at his PA slash unofficial adviser, “You’re here earlier than usual today.” he points, taking a sip of the warm drink.

Lance swallows hard when Shiro licks his pink lips and looks up at him, waiting for Lance to speak. It would be a lot easier to say something if Shiro didn’t make it so hard by being the most gorgeous man on this earth, no exaggeration whatsoever. He shakes his head lightly, forcing himself to forget what just happened. _Not today, satan, not today._

“Yeah,” Lance has to physically hold back from ranting about his uneasiness, about how odd today feels, fingers grasping the clipboard hard. _Be professional_. “You have free schedule until nine, there’s a meeting regarding the new project, I’ll give you the details later,” he frowns down at the paper, pen poking his cheek lightly before scribbling something on the corner, “There are three contracts you need to look over and sign if they’re all right, even though I already went through them and they're good enough, I’ll send them to your email in a bit.” Lance taps at the clipboard.

“Okay,” Shiro slowly nods, eyes _still_ wandering Lance’s figure, “Is that a new shirt?”

“Sorry?” Lance looks up in question, tilting his head a little to the side.

“The dress shirt, is it new?” Shiro’s lips curl up in amusement. If anyone else had said that to him, Lance would have thought they were flirting and he would have flirted back on the spot, especially if they were as handsome as Shiro.

“It is, Sir,” He answers, biting his lower lip. _A friend got it for me, my birthday was last week, they prepared a surprise party that wasn’t that much of a surprised because I already suspected but it was really nice of them,_ “I’ll be in my desk if you need anything else.” Lance rigidly nods his head and quickly exits the office.

He doesn’t hear the heavy sigh escape Shiro’s lips.

When Lance had cracked a joke at his first job interview a year ago, it had been like the five years majoring administration in Columbia University, two years of internship and all letters of recommendation vanished completely. The man had just stared at his unnerved face, cold eyes practically freezing Lance’s droplets of sweat on the spot. _Come back when you get a grip and learn to be professional._ The words still echoes in his head whenever he wants to say anything unrelated to work in the room.

Lance hasn’t told a joke or shared any useless information during work hours since then. It’s probably thanks to shutting up that he’s gotten this job, right beside Takashi Shirogane, one of the most prestigious businessmen in the field, managing to run his own company before his thirties and keep it at the top even after the accident that costed him an arm and permanent scars, physically and psychologically.

He looks up to the man since his first year of University when Shiro gave a lecture on campus about statistics — or maybe even before that, but Lance won’t admit to being inspired by a guy in a magazine. Shiro had been incredibly smart, aspiring, but above all, kind and passionate, voice filled with determination and fervor for what he does — truth be told, Lance didn’t think it was this possible for someone to be so interested in business administration, let alone statistics.

Does Lance even have to point out the guy’s looks? Pitch black hair with an outstanding while lock at the front, strong jaw, straight nose, beautiful sharp grey eyes, and so goddamn _tall_. And he could bet his entire savings that Shiro is pure muscle under that suit. The guy is even more charming when you get to work with him face to face. And his _smile_ whenever he closes a contract or wins a project over, _G_ o _d_. It sweeps Lance off his feet.

It’s an everyday challenge to keep himself in check, to not add a cheeky comment about that day’s choice of tie along with the usual good morning, to not start rambling about how his neighbors wouldn’t stop fighting at four in the morning. Yet, the thought of losing this job, losing his position as one of Shiro’s crew, is enough to scare the humor and bratty attitude out of him when he steps inside the building each day.

Lance takes a sip of his own drink, turning on the computer on the desk, trying his best to brush off that morning’s feel and get to work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for the amazing response to the first chapter! it made me so happy i decided to update it a lot earlier and get things going along hehe but from now on i swear i’ll do my best to stick to the schedule lol 
> 
> some of you may realize that i switched lance calling shiro ‘boss’ to ‘sir’ cause i’ve made a poll and the people on twitter have spoken

“Have a nice lunch, Lance,” Shiro nods his head at him, heading off to the elevator and away from Lance's sight. The same phrase, the same gesture, ever since his first day.

Shiro knows Lance likes to stay inside the office. His boss had found strange at first, Lance could see it in his face when he politely declined his invitation for lunch and told he was staying in, maybe thinking he had been trying to show his devotion to the job on his first few days. Which isn't exactly the case, Lance simply enjoys eating his sandwich in the comfort of the AC and WiFi, not really appreciating being around the cranky people of New York, he’s the small city kind of guy. Besides, going out for lunch would unleash his talkativeness and that’s something he didn't want at the time - and still don't.

He makes a noise of pure delight when he stretches his legs over the table, undoing two of the shirt’s button. If Shiro could see him now, he chuckles to himself, _so_ unprofessional. Lance smiles foolishly as he fishes the phone from his pocket and dials Hunk’s number. His best friend picks up on the fifth ring.

“Rise n’ shine, buddy!” Lance shouts enthusiastically, something he would never be doing if Shiro had been there.

Hunk’s voice is familiar and very welcomed by Lance's ears, it calms the insistent restlessness at the bottom of his stomach that had stubbornly settled there since this morning. They talk as Lance bites down on his food and Hunk gardens his plants on the other side, chattering noisily, updating each other on their day so far.

“So, did Shiro get you anything?” Lance can _hear_ Hunk’s knowing smile on the other side of the line.

Hunk and Lance had shared an apartment through college and had stuck together since then, so yeah, he knows about Lance's admiration for the guy, that grew to be a big fat crush, and he's a pain the ass about it.  Hunk had gotten a shout out from a friend who worked at Shiro's company and he immediately called Lance to tell him about the spot. Lance had sent his resume as soon as Hunk finished spelling out the company’s email, excitement and hope boiling inside him.

Hunk had actually thrown him a party when he got the job.

“No,” Lance frowned at the sandwich in his hands, taking another bite, voice sounding muffled, “Why would he?”

“You didn’t tell him!” Hank gaps, sounding horrified — completely exaggerating, in Lance’s opinion.

“Of course I didn’t tell him my birthday was Friday, Hunk, he’s my _boss._ ” Lance shrugs, as if that explains it. He throws the remains of his lunch in the trash, not that much hungry anymore. 

Hiding his birthday from Shiro had been, by far, the hardest thing Lance has ever done since he got hired. He couldn't burst the door open with happiness because it was _his day_ , he couldn't make the ‘one year closer to death’ joke, he couldn't ramble about how Hunk and Pidge were totally throwing him a surprise party. It was difficult to hide the huge smile when he got a message from someone, especially one from a relative or an old friend.

He had barely made it through the day without raising suspicion, but he had finished work successfully. All cool.

“You're his employee, not his slave! You spend half of your day inside an office with him Lance, come on,” Hunk sighed heavily and Lance rolls his eyes to the back of his head, not really up for another lecture on this. _Here we go again,_  “You can't possibly be holding back from sharing the tiniest bit of your personal life because of that first interview. Because you know, that kind of thing happens, dude, Shiro isn't the same as Mr. Creepy One Hundred Years Old, maybe he likes jokes and-” a loud noise cut his friend’s voice for a split second. Saved by the beep — quite literally.

“Hunk, I've got another call coming in, catch you later. Bye bye!” He quickly says before looking at the caller ID, face brightening up in a matter of seconds.

“Mama!” Lance sits up straight in his chair, smile big and heart aching with longing. Oh, how he misses her. He misses his whole family, whom, it seems, are making a lot of noise in the background, “What's going on over there?” he chuckles, it could be big news, but then again, Lance's family is so big casual lunch talk puts a king’s court gossip to shame.

“Helena is engaged!” his mom yells in his ears, making him wince as much as he can when hearing the news that his big sister is getting married.

“That's wonderful news!” Lance can't hold himself as his body bounces up and down on the chair, making it swirl around a little. He’s ecstatic, finally his sister and her girlfriend would marry after long seven years together, “I'm so happy for her and Imani.” he touches his chest softly, feeling the warmth of his love for his big sister bubbling inside him.

“The wedding is going to be in four weeks! I want you and your boyfriend here by the end of this week!” Lance stops bouncing, smile fading as quick as it had come.

“W-what?” his voice barely a whisper.

_This_.

That feeling that had been waiting, edging all morning swallows him inside, finally taking over, burning and drowning him at the same time. Of course this would come back to bite him in the ass.

As someone who comes from a big family, being single at the age of twenty-six is almost as bad as attempting to murder the pope. Your mother expects grandchildren, your grandmother insists on grand grandchildren, your siblings want to be uncles and aunts, their children want cousins, and everyone is pressuring you to find someone and settle down before you reach your thirties.

As much as Lance wants to please them, he has close to zero will to settle down just now, he doesn't believe _he_ can find a love so strong it lasts for years, like his mom and dad’s did — though he has a good portion of aunts who divorced and it's not pretty. Lance doesn't want a failed relationship, especially when he works so hard to make his life as successful as he can. Nobody wants him; too loud, too average looking, too slim, too talkative, too affectionate, too nosy. Mediocre. Of course his mother wouldn't understand, in her eyes, he's her golden boy.

So he had done it. A whole year ago Lance created the perfect boyfriend in his head and bragged about it to his mother, telling her how happy he was. She believed him, and he almost believed himself. The imaginary boyfriend _accidentally_ looked very similar to Shiro, and their personalities turned out to match too — all an incident, he swears —, so it became easier to keep the act up considering he was actually attracted to somebody like that, and his idiotic self thought he could get away with this lie.

“You heard me! You've been stalling us for a year now, _mijo_ , I want to see you swoon and sigh in colors! Come with your boyfriend or don't come at all!” he desperately tries to grasp hold of any hint of a lie, like his mom is just joking about it. He can't find any.

“But Mama, I have to work, I can’t just leave for three weeks.” he is actually proud of how steady his voice sounds, total opposite of how Lance is actually feeling.

“You haven’t had any vacation yet, honey, you can ask for it now and come visit us with your boyfriend, no excuses this time,” she says a little too loud over the loud voices in the background, “We love you, Lance! Can't wait to see you, Mama misses you so much! Goodbye!”

And then she's gone.

But not the mess in Lance's guts. Oh no, no, that stays.

It takes a hold of him, weights his body down in his chair. He can't hear the white noise of the AC, the static of the phone still in his ear. He doesn't notice his breathing accelerating, heart racing, chest moving up and down, faster by the second.

_What the fuck am I going to do._

The phone falls to the floor with a noise that goes unregistered, Lance's hands fly to his hair, grasping on it hard, trying to have balance, get his thoughts in control _somehow_ . He’s drowning in air and yet he can’t _breathe._

He doesn't hear the elevator’s door opening, doesn't hear footsteps approaching. Lance sees Shiro's shoes and tries to look up at his boss and grin but he _can't._ He doesn't hear Shiro calling his name multiple times either.

“Lance?” Shiro's hurried, exasperated voice breaks the barrier and Lance looks up, eyes wide and humid.

Shiro _knows_ that look, he's looked like that many times.

“Hey, hey it's okay, you're okay,” his voice is firm and it brings some distant sense of security to Lance, “Breathe. Breathe with me, slowly,” Lance tries, copying Shiro's steady chest movements. It’s difficult when it feels like there’s a wet cloth around his lungs, but he does the best he can, “Good, good. You're alright, I'm here,” Shiro is now crouched down in front of him, another thing that went unregistered.

“Lance, I’m going to touch you, is that okay?” Lance nods, absently. Touches are usually a great help when trying to get him to snap out of it. Lance feels warm hands on his knees, the comforting sensation slowly bringing him down to reality. It feels grounding, reassuring and _safe_.  He can hear the low grumble of the AC again, his breathing is steadier and his eyes aren't far off anymore, they're focusing on Shiro.

Shiro gives Lance's knee a encouraging squeeze and he sighs heavily, letting his shoulders relax with a tremor, “There you go,” there's still a burning sensation at the bottom of his belly, though, “Come on, let's get you some water.”

For his surprise he actually manages to get up from the chair, his legs faltering just a little. Shiro's hand fly to his back in an instant and he leads them to the small kitchen inside Shiro's office.

Lance is thinking clearer now, but he isn't sure if that's a good thing. He wants to say thank you, say _something_ , his boss just caught him panicking, for God’s sake, but nothing is coming out, his voice is gone. He is embarrassed, ashamed. Situations like this were exactly what he had been trying to avoid, now Shiro is handing him a glass of water, a tender look in his big eyes and probably a letter of resignation at the bottom.

“Thank you,” Lance mutters, voice cracking and barely audible, but perhaps a little bit of pity can help him keep his job.

Silence settles between them, it's neither awkward nor comfortable, just plain silence. Lance wants to drag it the most he can, maybe if they don't talk for long enough they can forget what happened and continue with their lives, he's pretty sure there's a meeting soon…

But that's his boss, that's _Shiro,_ who came back from his peaceful lunch break to find his PA freaking out.He deserves to know why Lance had been on the edge of tears just a few minutes ago, even if it’s the lamest of explanations. He sets the glass on the sink behind him with a sigh, massaging his temples with a hand and avoiding Shiro's gaze but feeling it on him nonetheless.

“That was awkward,” Lance tries, voice and smile weak. He almost can’t bare to keep it professional right now, pretending is tiring and he’s _so tired._  But the wish to keep his job is stronger, “I am very very sorry, Sir, a personal matter got to me for a moment. Thank you uh, for helping me get back to earth,” he nods and smiles faintly to himself, that actually sounded great. The hysterical rant will have to wait until he calls Hunk later, “It won’t happen again, I promise you. Now, if I'm not mistaken we've got a meeting in—”

“Lance,” Shiro looks at him, thick eyebrows knitting together, “Talk to me. Forget I'm your boss for a few minutes and just talk to me.” Shiro is actually _pleading_ with such honesty Lance almost can't find it in him to say no. Almost.

“It’s a long story,” he breathes out, as much as he desperately wants to talk about the matter, his mind is set on not oversharing in the workplace. Maybe if he stalls Shiro enough he’ll just drop it, “Nothing you have to worry about, everything is fine.”

He tries to smile, he really does. And he manages it, not without it faltering and Shiro noticing though.

“I have all the time in the world,” Shiro crosses his arms and it’s so not fair how his suit jacket clings to his biceps for dear life, Lance is trying to concentrate here, dammit.

“I mean, it’s a really, _really_ long story,” Lance fidgets and look at his wrist, not actually paying any attention to what time it is, “And you’ve got a meeting in twenty minutes,” he isn’t sure about that, though, just trying to buy some time. He is desperate, okay?

A shrug, “It can wait,” Shiro is still leaning against the sink, the most patient look on his face, like he would cancel all his meetings to hear Lance rant. Oh, wouldn’t that be a dream?

“It's silly, honestly,” Lance chuckles nervously, looking everywhere but in Shiro's direction, embarrassed about his pitiful situation. How in the world he managed to get himself into this mess? 

“If it’s so silly you can tell me,” Shiro says softly. So softly that makes Lance barriers crack for a moment. A side note that Shiro is asking for this, if he ever tries to use that against him in his soon to be jobless future.

Fuck, Lance is really doing this, isn’t he?

“A year ago I sort of told my entire family I was in a serious relationship with someone when, in fact, I wasn't,” that ought to be enough information, but it’s too late now. He won’t stop babbling until he gets it all out, and he still feels a bit high from his episode, “It's not like I didn't have a reason, okay? They kept pressuring me to _‘find someone’_ but I'm still young, how do they expect me to settle down already? So I just made up this stupid boyfriend and they all believed me and now my sister is getting married and my mom doesn't want me there unless I bring my boyfriend, which I don't have because I made it all up! I can't say we broke up, they think we’re literally soulmates or something. And I can't take Hunk, they know him, and-” Lance has been walking around the small kitchen, rambling like an idiot, anxiety building up inside him again. Shiro’s patient look is probably long gone now, replaced by an annoyed one at how much he talks, like everyone else always is. He sighs and stops, staring at his suddenly very interesting shoes, “I’m just… I’m so fucked,”

He hesitantly looks up at Shiro, who has an amused smile on his lips _. Odd._ Not exactly what he had expected. Maybe he’s laughing at Lance’s suffering? That’s plausible, he _is_ pretty pathetic after all. Or he’s just content he’s firing someone today.

“I'll do it," Shiro says it like he's about to sacrifice his life for the president and Lance looks at him like he just told him he's Captain America — which would honestly not be that surprising.

“Um, sorry but do what, exactly?” he knows what Shiro just proposed very well, and maybe he did on impulse so Lance will give him another try to take it back. Or say another sentence like ‘you’re insufferable’ and ‘you’re fired’, or any variations of those, really.

He doesn’t, “Pretend to be your boyfriend to your family,”

“Like it's that easy,” Lance scoffs incredulously, “Listen, Sir, I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I can't possibly ask you that,” oh, how appreciative he is. Shiro is what every person want in a guy when introducing them to your family — not to mention he is very similar to Lance's initial imaginary boyfriend. Only accidentally.

"You aren't asking. As you said, I'm offering,” Shiro continues and Lance's getting frustrated at the guy in a non-sexual way for the first time.

"This is nonsense, I can't let you do this,” Lance is losing his cool, his collected act slipping away through his fingers like water. He takes a deep breath.  _Keep it cool._ “I don't want to bring my personal matters into the office, I’ve slipped today but it won’t happen again. Let's just focus on your next meeting, okay?”

"Lance,” He does his best to focus and not melt at the way his name sounded coming out of Shiro's lips in that voice, he can't help but blush slightly though, “We've been working together for quite some time now and I don't know a thing about you, it's the perfect opportunity to get to know each other.”

Getting to know Shiro sounds wonderful, Shiro getting to know Lance sounds catastrophic. That's exactly what he's been trying to avoid for eight months. All this work keeping his emotions at bay will pay off, he is not going to fail at this rate. No more failures.

“I don't think that is necessary for our work dynamic, Sir,” he insists, “Am I not doing my job well enough?”

“What? No! Your job is amazing, Lance, you're the best person I've ever hired,” Shiro sighs, “What I mean is that we spend _a lot_ of time together, it would be so much more bearable to be working with a friend rather than just an employee,” and there it is again, Shiro’s pleading eyes. Lance ignores the little Hunk voice in his head saying ‘ _I told you so’._

"You'd have me fired if you really knew me,” he offers with a small smile, looking down at his feet. There. Lance finally said it. He is loud and obnoxious and no one wants someone like that working for them.

Numerous emotions pass through Shiro's face and Lance isn't quick enough to catch all of them. Only the last one, similar to what he saw that day at the lecture in his first year of college. _Determination_. It sends a shiver down his spine.

“That's it, we're going. Call your family, I'll book the flights,” Shiro leaves the kitchen quick as a lightning. Lance has a second to absorb the fact that the guy he's been pining for years, his _boss,_ is alright with being his fake boyfriend— emphasis on _boyfriend_. 

"But Sir—” Lance hurries after him. This can't be happening. He knows if they do this, there's no going back. Shiro will get to know Lance eventually, and all his hard work concealing his personality will just vanish, “They want me to spend three whole weeks away, we’ve got meetings and projects and—” he huffs, not able to continue his argument which is quite frustrating.

“I'm here to help you with anything, just like you are for me,” Shiro offers a grateful smile at him, “Firstly, I’m not going to fire you anytime soon, and certainly not because you said something unrelated to work,” _t_ _hat's because you don't know me,_ a little voice says.“Secondly, three weeks are fine, we’ll have to do some work from home but we can handle it.”

“ _Sir_ _—”_ Lance tries again, desperately.

_“Lance.”_ Shiro cuts him off, raw authority in his voice and Lance can’t decide if he should be turned on or scared, “I just want to help you, alright? If you really don’t want me to go I won’t pressure you, the last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable. This is your call,” his voice is soft, eyes tender, “I just need you to know that I can, and will, help you with this.”

Lance bites his lower lip nervously. He  _wants_ to say yes, to solve this enormous problem he got himself in and spend time with Shiro out of work, but he is still anxious and making a mental list of all that could go wrong. Even if Shiro reassured him that he won’t lose his job, Lance can’t help but be apprehensive about it. He’d rather direct ten words a day at Shiro than not see him at all. But he also can’t just throw this chance away, it's not like many guys were laying around waiting to be his fake boyfriend willingly.

“Can I… think about it?” Lance won’t look Shiro in the eye, too embarrassed, too afraid he will say yes in a heartbeat.

“Of course, the offer will be up for as long as you need,” his voice is so full of kindness and consideration it makes Lance’s chest tight and eyes sting.

“Thanks, uh, I’ll just go over there then, Sir,” Lance points towards the door while already walking away, praying that Shiro won’t try saying anything else. Lance just needs some time alone to think.

Shiro had said to his face that he wants Lance to loosen up, to be friends. Why is Lance so afraid to do so? Why is Lance so— fixed in this idea that Shiro will hate him if he shows himself? Why is he so afraid of losing Shiro, when he's never had him at all?

He texts Hunk about it, rambling with with no punctuation, barely making any sense — Hunk is used to it by now. Of course, the first reply to Lance's hysteria is ‘i told you so’, followed right behind by a text as long as Lance’s ramble but with a lot more punctuation and actual coherence advising him to accept it.

Lance still needed more reassurance though. He texts Allura and Lotor for an emergency sleepover after work if they aren’t busy, he needs a second point of view in this and a good face mask, as well as his friend’s comforting presence.

The day goes by fast, yet slow. Lance reducing his and Shiro’s communication to sending emails about the next meetings, refusing to interact with Shiro any more than necessary until this whole situation sinks. It makes him notice how much he actually treasures his small moments with Shiro, even if he only ever talks about the company. The realization puts Lance in even more fear of losing his job, despite of Shiro telling him getting fired isn't an option at the moment. If Lance becomes too comfortable and accidentally blurts out his feelings for the man, it's dubious Shiro would be able to keep his promise.

Once the clock hits seven, Lance hurries to the elevator and, consequently, out of the building. He doesn't linger behind to see Shiro off like usual and it feels _wrong._ He almost turns back to sit promptly at his desk, but his phone buzzes with a text from Lotor saying they’re waiting in front of his apartment.

As much as he wants to see Shiro just one more time before going home, Lance is not about to leave his friends waiting — especially when those friends are bringing his favorite face mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are absolute love! let me know if everything is running smoothly :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you've read any of my other shance works you know i religiously insert my twins lotor and allura hc in everything and this fic isn't an exception!!
> 
> a huge thank you to sara (@tomiekatanas on twitter) for being my beta! i love u my queen 
> 
> i hope you guys like reading this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it!!

 

Tankfully, both Allura and Lotor were available, accepting to come over as soon as Lance texted saying he was in trouble — if you considered having your wonderful boss offering to be your (fake) boyfriend something troublesome. Allura brought the snacks, Lotor the skincare and Lance set up a show on the tv, the trio messily laying around Lance’s small, yet cosy living room.

Lance finishes brushing Lotor’s hair and starts working on a braid. He watches as Allura plops herself down in front of Lotor, whom had been waiting to start painting his twin sister’s nails.

“Ew, Allura, your hands are all greasy from the snack,” Lance can tell by Lotor’s voice he is scrunching his nose.

“Shut up and paint my nails, you’re next,” Allura kicks his leg with a bit too much strength, getting a low growl for an answer.

Lance had been friends with Allura and Lotor since college, they became his closest friends besides Hunk. They were known around campus as the Rival Twins, always competing about something and fighting with each other. 

Lotor and Lance had both been on the volleyball team. They hadn’t even been that close at first, but Lance couldn’t breathe the same air as Lotor without all hell breaking loose thanks to Allura. The thing was, Allura had been in the same book club as Lance, meaning Lotor would end up causing the same chaos his sister did. Either way, the twins always ended up fighting over Lance. 

Lance got tired of all the rivalry though, and stomped his foot down, claiming wherever he was ‘neutral grounds’, meaning no fights. The twins found it a fair enough rule, and decided to comply. With time, the trio grew into close/best friends, and have remained that way ever since. Allura and Lotor had, until now, followed the one rule Lance had set pretty well. 

“You’re disgusting,” Lotor huffs in annoyance.  

“You remind me of that every day. Thank you, brother,” She lays down on her side to look at Lance from behind Lotor’s body, ignoring the latter's complaint to  _ stop fucking moving.  _ “You’re awfully quiet, dear. We are all ears… but let’s be honest, it’s mostly me.”

Lotor squints at Allura but tilts his head slightly to the side, subtly showing Lance that he is paying attention.

Lance had been silently threading Lotor’s hair, not even bothering to stop the bickering of the other two like usual. He lets out a heavy sigh and blurts out all about his day to the twins, from the uneasy feeling he had that morning to his mother’s call and finally Shiro’s offering. It makes his guts unpleasantly tight again, but it’s not as bad as before with Allura’s warm eyes on him and Lotor’s soft hair in his hands. 

“I can go with you!” Lotor turns around abruptly, like he’s just discovered electricity, smudging Allura’s nail polish and making the almost done fishtail braid snap from Lance’s hand. “Your family doesn’t know me and we could pull off the perfect couple,”

“Lotor, there’s a reason you didn’t go to Lance’s hometown with us that summer . ”

“I’ll have you know I can be awfully charming, dear sister,” He sticks out his tongue at Allura, giving her a glare. 

“You’re not going!” She punches Lotor’s shoulder with the hand that hasn't been painted yet.

“Guys, neutral ground,” Lance sighs heavily, stopping Lotor from hitting back and settling him in place to finish the braid. “And can we focus on my problem please. I’ve been freaking out for five hours straight . ”

“First of all, congrats to your sister. Ask her if Imani has a friend and if she's single, then I might show up to the wedding,” Allura says, playfully. “Second, you’re never this worried about what others will think of your jokes, even with people you’re into.” Allura tilts her head, a silent question in her blue eyes.  _ What makes him so different? _

“ Like, ever. The first thing you said to me was  _ ‘nice ass’ _ .” Lotor raises his eyebrow questionably.

Lance chooses to ignore that. 

“I know I’m making this a big deal when it's not that deep but— I just don’t want to push him away by saying the wrong thing and end up  losing the best job I’ve ever had.” Lance bites his lip, looking down at his hands. 

“Sometimes you just have to take the risk, dear,” Allura’s voice is filled with comfort that  fills Lance’s chest with warmth . 

“And you never know, he might be endeared by your lame jokes like I was in college ,  and  end up actually ask ing  you out,” Lotor elbows him lightly and Lance's lip curls upwards. 

“What if he’s… straight,” Lance whispers.

“Lance, dear,” Lotor turns to look at him again, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking very serious. “You—  _ we _ are fated to not befriend straight people. I’m pan, Allura is gay, you and Hunk are bi, Pidge is… well, Pidge. We literally haven't seen a straight person in three days. So if you are planning to use that as an excuse to not jump on that hot piece of meat, forget it.” 

“Not saying Lotor’s got a point— I would never say that in a sane state of mind, but you have to admit it,” Allura quirks an eyebrow. “Besides, he’s literally the perfect guy to introduce to your family ... better than my stupid brother, anyway. You won’t find anyone more suitable,” Allura continues, reaching for a package of Doritos. Lance catches Lotor’s disgusted look. “And Hunk is right, you can't avoid him forever,”

“Why are you even questioning a three  week  holiday with a hot, nice guy? Where is the Lance I know?” Lance almost believes in Lotor's exasperation, almost.

“Maybe because  he’s my boss. I’m not sure he would really appreciate  knowing that I’ve  had a massive crush on him since college,” Lance glares at his friend. “Do you think I can really control my feelings when he's all relaxed and beautiful and nice to my family? This is dangerous ...  _ dangerous. _ ” 

“No. There's more,” Allura squints her eyes. “Even if the person was your long time crush  _ and _ boss you would still make a move.” Her eyes silently say something to him again.  _ He's different.  _

Lance looks away, entertaining his fingers with the fluffy end of Lotor’s braid. There isn’t  _ more _ . Okay, maybe he really likes Shiro and wants a long term relationship with the man, something he's never cared about before. So what? He  isn't even sure this isn't his just years of idolization piled up. Pathetic. And only a tad bit scary.

“Lance, you really should accept his offer, and this is coming from  _ me, _ who’s planned on marrying you since we met,” Lotor sighs dramatically.  “You're going to help organize your sister’s wedding, you will barely have time to stay with him. Thankfully.”

Allura hits her brother again, this time Lance doesn’t reprehend. 

“Supposing I survive this trip, then what? For how long will I keep  up this act  with my family?”  

“You can pretend to fight and breakup, simple,” Allura shoves three Doritos in her mouth at once. 

“Simple,” Lance murmurs with a humourless chuckle. 

Except he doesn’t want the crushing pressure of being single again, and he doesn’t want to keep lying for the sake of an act either, especially after Shiro is involved. Lance's options aren't exactly unlimited, he doesn’t want to drag people into the mess he made . At least Shiro had offered willingly — as well as Lotor, but he doesn’t count for this kind of thing. 

“Fine. I’ll accept it,” Lance runs a hand through his messy hair, sighing and looking at his friends, the gratitude he felt for everything clear in his eyes , “Thank you.”

Allura smiles fondly at him.

“My offer still stands though, just so you know,” Lotor looks at Lance over his shoulder. “I don't mind being a second option . ”

“Permission to hit Lotor on neutral grounds,” Allura growls.

“Denied.” 

Lotor turns around and mouths _love you_ to Lance with a wink and making Lance smile playfully at his friend.

“Anyways, I’m just saying yes because my mom wants me there in three days and I’m not about to bring a complete stranger to meet my whole family,”  and  then it hits him. “Oh my God,  _ Shiro _ is going to meet my  _ whole family _ ,” the horror in Lance's voice makes Lotor visibly wince. 

His family is wonderful, truly. He loves the mess, the jokes, the way they all make everyone feel welcome and safe. Lance says they’re the best family in the world, but he’s biased.  The problem is that  his family can also be nosy and dramatic and just… too much. His Mama would definitely shower them with the most unwanted questions and Helena wouldn’t lose a chance to tell Shiro his embarrassing teenage stories. Oh,  _ God. _

Anything would have been more reassuring than the look the twins shared. 

“Don’t worry about that, Lance!” Allura’s voice is slightly high pitched, her smile a little too wide. “Your family is great, I love them and so will Shiro, after some time...”

“I love your family. Another thing to check off your  _ Why I Should Take Lotor _ list.”

“Do you ever shut up?”

“Do  _ you,  _ sister?”

“You know what ? One problem at a time,” Lance gets up from behind Lotor, exasperatedly. “Let's just wash the face masks off and watch the show,”

Allura whines, rolling on her back, ignoring Lotor saying he gives up on trying to paint her nails .  “Does it really have to be Brooklyn 99?”

“Don't you dare, Allura,” Lance points an accusatory finger at her. “I love you but I’m stressed and in need for my daily dose of humor . ”

“Not that I’m agreeing with Allura or anything, that will never happen, but Sailor Moon would have been a better option . ”

“Shut up, Lotor. You're in my house, this is my domain, and here you respect my love for bisexual icon Jake Peralta . ”

The twins know when to stop pushing, and soon they’re settled comfortably on the couch, limbs tangled and bodies pressed together as they watch Jake going undercover as  part of the mafia. 

Lance doesn’t pay that much attention to the show, though. How could he when he  is  a few mere hours away from accepting Shiro’s offer and from exposing to him the personality people usually dislike. Would Shiro be any different? A small ,  hopeful feeling tells Lance he would.

Seven episodes, smudged nail polish,  empty snack bags  and moisturized olive  skin later, Allura and Lotor fall asleep on the couch, clinging to each.  The scene is so tender one wouldn’t believe they spend every waking hour fighting.  Yawning, Lance tucks his friends under a comforter the best he can and makes  his way to his own bed.

In the darkness of his room, Lance allows himself to think about showing Shiro the beach in his hometown until he slips off into a  slumber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are absolute loveeee!! i love reading what you guys think


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies! as promised, a chapter every friday <3
> 
> beta: my queen sara (@tomiekatanas on twitter)

“You two are monsters,” Lotor grunts, slipping his shades on and running a hand through his messy long hair. “I hate mornings , ”

“I’m not a morning person myself, you know that, but some of us don’t work night shift, so move your nice ass along, winy prince,” Lance gestures towards the door, silently commanding Lotor to follow Allura outside the apartment. 

Last night, Lance had managed to catch three hours of restless sleep before Allura was up and making breakfast with whatever Lance had in the kitchen. Considering his fidgety state,  he welcomed the commotion.  He had gotten ready for work slowly, trying to postpone the inevitable. He would have called in sick for the first time ever if it wasn't for Allura being there and ready to kick his ass to the company if he tried to chicken out. 

He could hear Lotor yelling at his sister to  _ stop singing I need my beauty sleep  _ and Allura sing-songing a reply,  _ you’d have to sleep forever, brother. _

“I have to go, I’m already late for work,” Allura pouts, easily pulling Lance into a tight hug due to them being same height.

“Thank you for coming yesterday, I missed you guys,” Lance pouts as hard as Allura. 

“Good luck today, tell me everything later. And I’ll know if you back away,” she squints. Yes, he knows and does not want to find out what would happen then. 

“My lovely,  _ lovely _ sister!” Beside him, Lotor tries to sound as cheerful as he can in all his glory at seven o’clock in the morning. “I’m so  _ glad  _ you will be giving me a ride in this beautiful dusty, polluted day in New Yor—” 

Allura gets in her car and locks the doors, turning on the vehicle and speeding off without a second glance in their direction before Lotor could finish his overdramatic plea, leaving her brother to gape at the street she  had  disappeared down, “I literally hate her _so much_.”

Lance lets out a loud laugh and pats Lotor on the shoulder, “Walk with me to work, we can get coffee together,” he suggests. 

“The only thing I care about right now is when will I reunite with my bed, but I’m down for coffee just because it is you who is asking,” Lotor swiftly throws an arm around Lance's shoulder,  one of the  perks of being whole heads taller than Lance. 

They walk side by side, Lance talking about the new book he's been reading and Lotor quietly listening, humming in intervals to let him know he's listening. It’s comfortable, something they're very used to from their years in college and it eases Lance’s insistent , unpleasant gut feeling. 

The coffee shop Lance always frequents is bustling with people, some occupying the tables and chairs, others coming in and out hurriedly. Lotor grunts at the long line, mumbling about how he really hates mornings, maybe more than he hates Allura. Lance doesn't mind, though. He sort of likes the activity around him and waiting is never a bother, especially when he's got a friend to chat with. 

“There are like, ten thousand coffee shops in New York, Lance, do we really have to go to one of the busiest ones?” Lotor complains.

“It's my favorite, okay?” Lance crosses his arms over his chest, pouting at his friend. “And this is the only place I know of where they have cinnamon sticks instead of powder,”

“You're allergic to cinnamon , so that matters because…?”

“Shiro likes his coffee with cinnamon,” he shrugs.

“Hm, what do I like in my coffee?” Lotor muses, purposely picking on Lance.

“Honey and black sugar,” he shoots back, daring Lotor to doubt his storage of small facts about people he cherishes. “Which tastes disgusting, by the way,” he adds, Lotor only nods in amusement.

Lance has to hold back a laugh when it's time to order and Lotor grumpily mumbles about how absurd it is to  _ pay eight dollars for a damn cup of coffee, this is unacceptable, I hate this economy.  _ His friend is a very welcoming distraction from what he’s just a few minutes away from doing. 

Warm drinks in hands, they walk the remaining block talking — and giggling on Lance’s part — about how the cute barista was totally checking Lotor out. Though, as they approach his workplace, the relaxed atmosphere fades away and Lance gets more fidgety, biting his lip and tapping his fingers against his thighs. Lotor notices and starts rubbing a hand up and down his arm.

“Okay, time to go,” Lance hesitates in front of the company building’s door, his and Shiro’s usual order slightly burning his hands. “Thank you for walking with me, even though you're all cranky,”

“You, my dear, are the only one that can make me walk through the city at seven in the morning for coffee,” Lotor smiles for the first time since he’s woken up. “Wishing good luck is too boring so what about I yell ‘ go  get ‘em tiger’ when you're entering through the door?”

“I will never let you cut my hair again, I’ll go to a hairdresser.”

“Unacceptable!” Lotor scoffs, hand flying to his chest for a dramatic effect. “Just a simple and boring  _ good luck  _ it is, then,” Lotor squeezes him in a side hug. 

“See ya.” 

“Uh, Lance, wait—” Lotor reaches for the back of his light blue dress shirt, tugging at it lightly, and Lance stops. “Don't worry yourself too much about what he will or won't think of you. If he doesn't like your obnoxiously wonderful self , he’s not worth it. You're human, a very amazing one, and he is so unimaginably lucky to have you swooning for him. Let him in, okay?” 

Lance bites his lips and smiles so very fondly at his friend, “Thank you, Lotor, really.”

“And this is probably Hunk’s line but I  _ will _ destroy him if he hurts you, you know very well what I’m capable of, make sure to tell him that.”

Lance pulls at Lotor’s hand, bringing their bodies closer and wrapping his arms around Lotor’s torso the best he can when holding two cups of coffee in one hand. He knows his friends will give hell to whoever hurts him, “Got it,”

Lotor ruffles his hair and Lance waves a last goodbye before pushing the glass doors with his shoulder, just like every day since he got hired. He makes his way to the elevator, smiling good mornings to coworkers and security. As he skillfully presses the button with his elbow, his palms start sweating under the cups of coffee he is holding. 

Lance takes a deep breath before stepping out and heading to his desk, dumping his bag and coffee on they’re usual place and grabbing his clipboard. Is now a good time to bring the subject up? If he doesn't solve this soon , his anxiety will eat him alive for the rest of the day. He takes another slow, deep breath before opening Shiro’s office door. 

“Morning, Sir,” he tries to keep his voice normal. Although it doesn't falter, it comes out a bit off.  _ Great start, Lance. _

“Lance,” Shiro acknowledges, looking up from the paperwork in his hands with a glimmer in his beautiful grey eyes. Lance’s grip on his clipboard tightens, physically holding  him back from sighing dreamily. 

He places the coffee in its usual place on Shiro’s desk and taps his fingers quietly, biting his lip. Anxiety is throwing a damn party inside his gut right now, making him a little nauseous, to be honest. Shiro's steady gaze on him isn't helping. Could he jump from the 15th floor window and escape both death  _ and  _ Allura’s wrath? Unlikely. 

“So, uh—” Lance swallows thickly, his saliva still tastes like mint toothpaste. “Maybe it's a little too early in the day to ask, I can come back later, but you know— anxiety, and— uh, is that offer still up? You know, about— the pretend to be dating thing...” 

He is not looking at Shiro. It's possible he had realized the weight of the situation and reconsidered—  even regretted, volunteering to save Lance’s ass from his own mess.

“Yes, totally . ”

At that, Lance's gaze shoots up. Perhaps not the best decision because Shiro is smiling so stunningly, eyes wrinkling at the corners, all teeth showing and a small dimple on his left cheek. How can he possibly argue with  _ that. _ There's no way out of this anymore, is there?

“Thank you so much for doing this, Sir, really,” Lance ’s eyes soften, those words not nearly able to express how fucking  _ grateful _ he feels. Shiro is truly an angel from heaven.

“It's really my pleasure,” Shiro really has to stop smiling so beautifully, it’s not good for Lance’s health. “Since this is settled, I also want to ask you to not hold back from being yourself at work.”  

Shit. Shiro caught om. Not a victory to have his hard work crumble just like that, but not exactly a loss either since Shiro seems to honestly want Lance to ‘be himself’ and won’t fire him for doing so. It’s not like he would be able to hold back when they travel to his hometown anyway, Shiro might as well get annoyed at him right now —  but he has a tiny, nice feeling Shiro won’t. He takes the third deep breath that morning, collecting himself and burning all his fucked up imaginary work ethics. 

“Okay,” he starts, letting loose every knot he's made to not do exactly what he is about to do at work. It’s surprisingly easy to let go.  _Take risks, right?_ “So we really  _ are  _ traveling together to meet my  _ entire family  _ and you’ll have to pretend to be all charmed by me which will be totally weird, ‘cause you know, you’re the boss, I’m the employee, and I understand if you feel uncomfortable doing that. Let me know if you aren't  so  we can, uh, do something about it. 

“And for your information my family is really big, like bad-hollywood-comedy-movie big and I’m so sorry that they will be shooting you with questions all the time but I’ll try to back you up the best I can, I don't want to burden you in any way. I know I’m rambling, I do that a lot, but you said you want to be friends— or as closest as a boss and his PA can get, at least. The point is that I don’t hold it back with my friends so you should get used to me talking nonstop, that’s what I do best.” 

Lance would probably have passed out if Shiro hadn't shot him an even more stunning smile — or maybe he will pass out anyway.

“I like your rambling, it’s a very interesting side of you,” Shiro leaned back in his black leather chair, arms resting on his sides, looking gorgeous in his grey suit. “I’m fine with pretending… to be all charmed. And the size of your family isn't a problem, neither are the questions.”

Lance can't help but smile genuinely at the other. Shiro just eased Lance’s anxiety with a few direct words, leaving him feeling a lot lighter and even hopeful this may actually work. He’s really a man made for business. And that is exactly what this whole shebang is, just business. They’ll pretend to be all lovey-dovey for a few weeks and get back to their normal schedule at the office. But this time , maybe Lance can nag about how hot the weather is without fears of being reprimanded, which would be one hell of an upgrade, he’d say. 

“Thank  _ God, _ you wouldn't believe how much I worried about this,” Lance chuckles, feeling a bit more comfortable about speaking his mind,  it is certainly better than holding back. “If my friends’ hair weren't already dyed I think I’d have turned them white.” 

“Your friends dyed their hair white?” Shiro quirks the corners of his lips.  

“Yes and it's beautiful, brings out their dark skin tone. They're twins, Allura and Lotor, we've been friends since college, we had a sleepover last night,” Lance likes this new dynamic, it’s nice. _Too nice_. “I was  _ so  _ stressed out.”

Lance hadn't fully realized how pressuring it had been to hold back at work until now. Talking freely to Shiro about his day feels like a weight taken off his shoulders. It's utterly alleviating. And the fact that Shiro isn't telling him to be more professional makes it even better.

“That’s… interesting,” Shiro taps on his chin thoughtfully. “You should update me on your life, your family certainly will get suspicious if your boyfriend turns out to not know anything about you.”

Lance is helpless against the blush creeping over his face. How dare Shiro call him his boyfriend so easily like that.  _ Seriously illegal.  _

“Of course, but not right now, though. You have a meeting in ten minutes.”

“Do I?” Shiro hums playfully. 

“ _Yes_ , and an important one, Sir, I emailed you about it yesterday before leaving,” Lance exasperatedly rolls his eyes, something he would never be doing a day before. “What if I hadn't gotten here in time?”

“I trust you to get here on time,” 

“You know, you're very relaxed for someone who's going to pretend to be in a relationship with his PA to a bunch of strangers for three whole weeks,” Lance squints at his boss, only half of it meaning to be a joke. 

“Lance, my job is to act cool in front of a room full of customers and convince them to buy my projects,” Shiro offers a small smile, “This is only half as nerve wrecking.”

Lance chuckles lightly, covering his mouth with a hand, “Come on, Sir, your meeting awaits,” He points to the door with his head, waiting for Shiro to leave with him. 

“I’ll book our flights when I get back, just tell me our destination later,” Shiro adjusts his tie and good lord, how good he looks doing something that simple is beyond Lance.

“I’m your PA, I should be booking flights.”

“Just let me do it this time.”

“Sure, sounds good,” Lance turns around and hurries to his desk to grab his clipboard and pen without actually running like a fleeing cat, hiding a smile and flushed cheeks, “Hurry or we’ll be late, Sir.” he calls over a shoulder. 

Shiro pops out of his office right after, “I think it's best to replace that with something like _babe_ or _honey_ , your family may find ‘Sir’ a little weird.” 

“I’m pretty sure that’ll make them think I joined a BDSM cult or something.” 

Lance freezes in place for a moment. That’s the first official joke he lets out since that first interview, since he started working for Shiro. It feels liberating, and yet still a bit terrifying. 

For his relief, but mostly surprise, Shiro  _snorts_ , a hand flying up to hide what clearly is a smile. That is indeed an unexpected (but adorable) reaction. 

“One more thing,” Shiro is still  _ chuckling.  _ Come on, it wasn’t even that funny, was it? But Lance won’t complain, he loves an easy audience, especially if said audience have such a cute laughter. “I know you like having lunch at the office, but how about I finally take you out for it like I planned on your first day working here? Perfect opportunity to start telling me about yourself.” 

_ Oh.  _

_ That _ caught him by surprise. It sounds like a date, but it obviously isn’t a date, and Lance won’t ever ask if it is because it’s clearly not. Just two people that work together having lunch. That’s all. Which is more than fine, really, if that means he gets to make Shiro laugh again. 

“Yeah,” Lance is pretty sure he has the goofiest grin right now, “Sounds good,” 

“Great,” Shiro just  _ has to  _ smile like the fucking sun and make the situation even more difficult, “Lets go now.” 

Lance is biting the insides of his cheeks to stop himself from smiling too much when they get inside the elevator. He actually feels kind of dizzy. Is this what cloud nine feels like? Probably. And the fact that the silence isn’t as suffocating as before makes him feel so much more comfortable, at least now Lance can actually relax, not worrying about breathing in the wrong direction and end up getting fired. And lunch together? Who would have thought? Hunk, probably. 

The meeting goes by in a flash. Usually Lance is very attentive, as he should be right now like the good PA that he is. But he is barely listening to their customers, taking lazy notes here and there. Lance had to stop himself from finishing more than one heart at the corner of the paper.  _ Drawing little hearts? What is he? Ten years old?   _

When they’re back on Shiro’s office and his boss leans against the desk with a sigh, Lance can’t help but notice he looks kind of worn out— which doesn’t happen pretty often. Two days ago Lance would have dropped the subject and gone to his own desk with only a concerned glance back, but a lot has changed in a mere couple of days. 

Lance gives Shiro a kind smile and takes a stand next to him, holding himself back from touching the other as a way of comfort. “Were the clients tough cookies?” 

“Yeah,” Shiro chuckles weakly, “I can usually soften them,” 

“You will, there isn’t anyone in the world you can’t persuade, Sir.” 

“I got you to talk to me about more than just my schedule, didn’t I?”

“See? If you figured  _ me  _ out those clients are going to be easy peasy.”

Shiro has a look in his eyes that Lance can’t quite decipher and Lance despises his cheeks for getting red, “I haven’t figured you out yet.” 

“You will soon enough.”

Suddenly the air feels heavy with _something_. Lance has a deep urge to swallow hard and lick his lips, but he does none of that in the thick silence that stretches. 

Shiro’s voice is deliciously low when he speaks, “I…” he clears his throat, the intrusive sound snapping Lance to his senses and making him jolt slightly, “I have to see Holt. You heard the clients, they want a whole new layout.” 

“Of course, Sir!” Lance takes two steps back. He isn’t quite sure what just happened here and he does not want to question it with Shiro still in the room, “I’ll email Matt about the new deadline in the meantime.”

“Perfect.” His boss nods and smiles, following Lance towards the door, their movements seeming a bit too stiff. 

As soon as the elevators door click shut and Shiro is no longer in sight, Lance plops down on his chair, biting his lip hard. Maybe forgetting about what just happened is a good idea? Yeah, it’s a good idea. Shiro does  _ not  _ need to get back and find his PA with a hard on. Forgetting it is, then. 

Shaking his head, Lance pulls out his phone from his pocket and aggressively texts his group chat with Hunk, Allura, Lotor and Pidge, updating his friends on the deal  _ and  _ the lunch situation. As replies come and go, Lance realizes that his friends had been right all along, without their support he would have probably been freaking out in his apartment bathroom right now. 

_Going on a mini vacation together, talk about boss and employee relationship_ , he thinks amusingly. Lance can't help but feel a happy tingling sensation in his belly, tickling his insides pleasantly. He’s getting more confident by the minute, all the things that had looked troublesome before are looking brighter now. He’s allowed to dream, after all.

Shiro will eat Lance’s mom’s cooking, play with his younger siblings, Lance will show Shiro all his favorite places growing up, they'll swim in the salty ocean, maybe Shiro could even join him and his cousins at beach volleyball. 

Most importantly, he could be himself without fear.

And the idea of Shiro being his  _ boyfriend _ — fake boyfriend, technically — for three weeks sends pleasant shivers down his spine. Even if it's all pretend, how bad can it be? 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter it's when it starts y'all... >:) 
> 
> comments are love!! pls let me know what you guys think <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's starting y'all....... 
> 
> a gigantic thank you to my queen sara (@tomiekatanas on twitter) for being my beta

“I've never been in first class,” Lance tries his best not to bounce excitedly on his spacious, fancy seat. He looks around, not even believing this is a plane from how huge it is. “I guess that’s fact about me you could learn, Sir." 

For some reason,they didn’t touch the subject of Lance’s life when they went out for certainly-not-a-date lunch a couple days ago, talking about random things instead. It had been incredibly nice to hear Shiro laugh at Lance’s snarky comments about the place’s decoration. If he had known this was the outcome of his jokes, Lance would have started telling them ages ago. 

“I’ll make sure to tell your family in details how adorably enthusiastic you looked on our first time flying first class, sweetheart,” Shiro smile is joyful and teasing and Lance wants to kiss it. _Bad Lance._

“Okay, no need to overdo it,” Lance rolls his eyes, ignoring the burning sensation on his cheeks. Damn, he really needs to control his reactions in front of Shiro— letting his true feelings be known is still out of the picture, “Just… act natural. My family has a sixth sense for lies, I’m telling you. So don’t even try or they’ll unmask us right away.” 

“I can be pretty convincing,” Shiro shrugs. 

“And I don’t doubt that for a second, I’ve seen you working. But I’m _telling_ you, my family is really keen on knowing when something is off,” he sinks down on the way too comfortable seat, “I don’t want to fuck this up.” 

“Hey, I’ve got you,” the  hand that touches Lance’s knee is warm and, like everything else about that man, reassuring, “We’ll be the perfect couple.” 

He feels a spread of happiness all over his body at the word “couple”, making his face go an even deeper shade of red and his eyes to soften to the highest degree. It’s like Lance’s brain completely forgot the agreement about controlling his reactions. _Poof!_ — just like that. 

“Yeah…” He practically _sighs_. _Fuck._

Turning his head to the window, Lance gets rid of every fuzzy thought in his mind. Even if they act all lovey-dovey, that’s all this is, an act. He had considered how aggressively this whole situation would feed his crush on the man, but it’s day one and he already wants to throw himself into Shiro’s arms — so, not much different than before. 

“So,” Lance clears his throat, shifting on the seat to be as far from Shiro as possible. _For safety reasons_. “Time for the _Get to Know Lance McClain_ show,” an almost conspiratorial grin spreads over his lips. 

For the next forty minutes Lance rambles about himself, focusing on things a year old boyfriend should know about him. His siblings, nieces, nephews and grandparents; his favorites movies, bands, books, foods; his hobbies, sleeping habits, morning habits, and etcetera. 

Through it all Lance keeps looking at Shiro to check on his level of interest in his not-that-exciting life — really, Lance just told the way he likes to cut his carrots — and surprisingly, Shiro looks knee deep into every word Lance is saying. He is a good businessman after all, he knows how crucial it is to know his clients for a presentation. 

“And since it’s unlikely that my sister will let you get away without telling you how I broke my arm, I’ll tell you in advance so I don’t die from embarrassment. But I probably will anyway,” Lance buries his face in one hand and sighs, “You can’t laugh, though! If you do I swear I’ll throw you out of this plane. And don’t test me, because I can simply tell them you died horribly and I’ll have an actual funeral to back me up,” he points an accusatory finger at the other, narrowing his eyes. 

“Good point,” Shiro snorts. 

“I was trying to glue those glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, the ladder was wobbly and I fell down right on top of my left arm,” Lance groans and Shiro is clearly biting his lip hard to stop himself from laughing, “You said you wouldn’t laugh!” 

“I’m not- I’m not laughing? What makes you think I’m laughing?” He asks while clearly hiding his giggles behind his hand. What a fucking adorable idiot. 

“Listen, it’s perfectly reasonable! The stars weren’t matching the constellations the way I wanted so I tried to change them,” Lance crosses his arms over his chest protectively, “If my Dad had listened to me and put Phoenix on the left of Sculptor I wouldn’t have done it, so it’s all his fault for thinking I wouldn’t notice.” 

“So you know your constellations?” Shiro stopped trying not to laugh and has a beautiful full smile on his lips instead. Lance truly doesn’t know which one is worse. 

“I do,” Lance says melancholically, uncrossing his arms and looking out the plane window, “I wanted to major Astronomy, but then things changed. I decided something more realistic would be better,” he shrugs. 

“I wanted to be an astronaut,” Shiro says quietly, “I actually got close to being one but then— I guess things changed for me too,” he glaces down his prosthetic arm and shrugs, “It’s okay, though, I like what I do now.”

Lance personally doesn’t know what happened, nor he would ask. When Shiro started his career as a businessman he already had the scars and prosthetic arm. Shiro had been questioned numerous times about the accident in interviews, but Shiro never answered them.

At that moment, Lance is so very proud of Shiro he can’t even put into words. He’s overcome so much in his life, building himself up and not letting his past get in the way of anything. Yet he manages to be one of the most good-hearted people Lance has met.

Fuck, Shiro is really going to be the death of him. 

“Now tell me about you,” Lance says softly, he is pretty sure he’s got the biggest heart eyes directed at Shiro right now, but how can he not? “I’ve told you how I danced to Shakira when I was ten, now it’s your turn.” 

Shiro lets out a laughter, the tension in his (incredible) muscles visibly going away. Perhaps he had been expecting a different reaction from Lance, “For starters, I’ve never danced to Shakira in my life.”

Lance laughs, “Your loss, babe.” 

So Lance learns that Shiro is a routine kind of guy. As much of a routine as he can get outside the office, that is. The guy may as well live in the company, ‘cause that sounds like all he does in life. Go to work, get home, watch a movie or two, eat and sleep. Lance does find out, though, that these movies are often _Pretty Woman_ , and this big buff man watching a cheesy romcom movie when he gets home is the most adorable thing in the world. Shiro’s favorite food is Mac N’ Cheese, but most of the time he just orders Chinese takeout. He likes to garden during his (rare) free time and has a cat named Black, who is often caught trying to destroy Shiro’s cherry tomatoes. 

When the plane finally lands, Lance firmly believes he cannot be more charmed by Shiro than he is now. Nope. That’s as far as his mushy feelings can go without making him jump on this man right here.

They call a taxi and the fact that Shiro can effortlessly lift up all their luggage and put them on the trunk without breaking a sweat is honestly impressive — and kind of a turn on. But Lance doesn’t have much time to enjoy that thought because the realization that _this_ is actually happening is terrifying. Soon enough they’ll have to start this _teather_ together and it’s not going to be pretty for Lance’s nerves — and heart. 

The smell of the ocean is a good distraction, though. It reminds him of childhood memories he had forgotten while living in the big city, teaching his sister how to surf and eating ice cream with everybody at the beach. His chest fills with a sudden warmth and he can’t hold back a huge smile, he’s  _ home. _

And a few minutes later Lance actually spots the house he grew up in, it’s as tall and large as he remembers, the high brown roofs and soft pastel blue walls stillexactly the same. At the front lawn he sees what he assumes it’s everyone — and he means _everyone_ — from his family. He even spots uncle Armando at the snack table, and he’s been retired in Australia for 10 years, for God’s sake.  

“Well, this is going to be a lot more nerve wracking than I thought,” Lance murmurs to Shiro, a nervous and yet excited smile on his face, it’s his sister’s celebration after all. 

“We got this,” Shiro nudges his arm lightly and Lance is incredibly grateful Shiro is so supportive and accepting of this whole thing, anyone else would be laughing in his face.

They get out of the taxi and it's immediate _chaos_. Literal chaos. There are people everywhere in the front lawn where a huge banner reading ‘ _congrats Helena and Imani_ ’ is on full display, and way more than a couple of them were getting closer to see who’s arrived. 

His younger siblings run up to Lance and fight for some part of him they can grab and pull, Lance tries to hug them all as best as he can while holding back the tears, he missed these little gremlins so much. But then his parents come up right behind the children and stopping the tears from falling is useless. Lance hugs them both like life itself depends on it, his heart about to burst with love.

“I missed you guys,” he croaks out, smiling and wiping the tears away. 

“Oh, _mijo_ , we missed you too,” Lance’s mom holds his blotchy face with her oh so soft hands, “But when are you going to introduce us that prince charming over there?” She looks behind Lance and _oh, right_ , he brought his handsome boss who is pretending to be head over heels with him along.  

He looks back at Shiro who is awkwardly standing by their luggage on the sidewalk, smiling nervously at the four kids staring up at him in awe, probably at how _big_ Shiro is. The scene is honestly endearingly comical. 

“Si— Baby, come here,” Lance stops himself from wincing, because calling Shiro anything other than ‘Sir’ is still weird as hell. 

Shiro gladly complies and gets closer, his left arm flying to wrap itself over Lance’s shoulder. _Oh, right_. Physical contact has to be a thing. Clearly Shiro is handling this way better than Lance. 

“So… Mom, Dad, this is Shiro, my, uh, boyfriend,” He looks down at his feet and hopes it comes off as embarrassment. If Lance looks into their eyes while saying it, they might pick up on the lie right away. 

“Mr. and Mrs. McClain, I’m Takashi Shirogane, but please call me Shiro. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Shiro offers the brightest smile and extends his hand to Lance’s dad, whom in turn lets out a snort and pulls Shiro into a big hug between himself and Lance’s mom.

“Welcome to the family, _mijo_ ,” Lance’s dad gives Shiro the biggest, warmest smile and Shiro’s face is so _emotional,_ Lance thinks he’s going to cry. Only then does Lance realize that Shiro has never once mentioned his parents. 

“Where is Helena and Imani?” Lance steps in, grabbing Shiro’s waist and firmly plants him by his side, suddenly wanting to comfort the man somehow without being obvious, “We want to give them our congratulations.”

“Oh, that’s right! They’re right by the back gate with Aunt Sharon and Carla. Follow me, boys,” his mom flips her very eccentric floral dress around and starts walking towards the back of the house and Shiro and Lance promptly follow. 

Lance recognizes a pretty good (decent) amount of faces in the crowd, but he has no idea who half of these people are at the same time. The amount of friends and relatives his family can gather in one place is honestly terrifying. He would feel extremely bad if Shiro happens to be questioned by all of them. 

As it is, Helena and Imani stood side by side by the small white gate leading right to the soft sand of the beach, holding hands and both dressed in light blue dresses that compliment their tanned skin and dark hair. Lance’s heart fill once again with pure love for them. Damn, is today a day to get emotional.

“Hey, lesbians,” Lance jumps on them and the trio laugh together. God, he missed them. Missed their late night talks, their movie nights and even giving his best love advice when Helena and Imani fought with each other.

“Hey there, bisexual disaster,” Imani ruffles his hair affectionately, “I knew you’d come.”

“Couldn’t miss it for dear life,” He nudges her on the sides, “Helena would eat me alive.”

Imani snorts and Helena rolls her eyes, “It’s true and we all know it.”

“We want to say congratulations on the wedding,” he motions awkwardly to Shiro behind him. 

“So _this_ is the Superman I’ve been hearing lots about!” Helena takes a once over at Shiro, “He is just as handsome as you said, nice catch, little brother!” She pulls Shiro aside and whispers to him — personal space? Helena doesn’t know her —, making damn sure Lance could still hear them, “He told me he’d call the love of his live by _mi vida_ , has he done that yet? Or is it _corazon_? He loves the cheesy pet names.” 

“Helena!” Lance yells in disbelief. He knew his sister would pull some embarrassing shit, but going straight for the 6th grade pet name Lance was obsessed about? Unfair. The worst of all is that Shiro is trying not to laugh at him. 

“Come on babe, that’s adorable,” he says, the pet name slipping through his lips easily, as if that’s any comfort for Lance, “You’ve never called me any of those, though,” Shiro pulls them close together, _too_ close, and _smirks_ at him. Fuck, he was not prepared for how _firm_ Shiro’s chest muscles felt under the palm Lance instinctively put there. 

Shiro is really damn good at this. But honestly? Two can play this game. So Lance brings his hand up to Shiro’s cheek and strokes it softly, making sure to lower his voice enough for only the four of them to hear, “Oh _cariño_ , you will.” 

It’s still kind-of-a-lot-weird to be this intimate with his boss, but Lance is very pleased to see Shiro _blush_ and pull his face away, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck. Oh, so the infamous businessman Takashi Shirogane _does_ get embarrassed. 

“I have to say,” Helena manages between her and Imani’s laughter, “I have never seen Lance this smitten with anyone,” _Oh, you have_ no _idea_. 

“Are Lauren and Valentina here? I haven’t seen them yet, and I’ve seen basically _all_ our relatives wandering around,” Lance changes subject, and very swiftly, thank you very much. 

“Valentina is probably at beach with her friends, you know, teenagers,” Helena rolls her eyes and starts guiding their way inside the house, hand firmly clasped around Imani’s, “And you know damn well Lauren is inside showing his horse riding trophies to everyone.”

“Lauren is your big brother, right?” Shiro whispers in Lance’s years, hand going around his waist as they follow inside. Lance low-key likes how well it fits there. 

“Correct,” Lance physically holds back from shoving Shiro away — or more like pulling him closer. “He only loves family and horses, so don’t take it personally if he doesn’t like you right away.”

“I have a reputation for winning people over,” Shiro wiggles his eyebrows, poking Lance’s sides. 

Lance snorts, “Yeah, right.” 

Lauren is, indeed, showing their cousins his trophies. His long brown hair tightly pulled into a ponytail and usual riding clothing just as Lance remembers. Lance also remembers how Lauren can practically _taste_ a lie from miles away, that’s the trait Lance hated the most during their childhood, so this particular meeting is leaving him a bit fidgety. Maybe Shiro notices, because the hold on his waist tightens a bit.

“Tired of bragging about your _riding_ skills?” Lance snickers as he approaches his brother, detaching himself from Shiro’s grasp and giving Lauren a big old hug. Maybe, just maybe, he misses the hand on his waist. 

“Not as tired ad you are of being a little brat,” Lauren smiles and fusses with Lance’s hair just like old times, leaving it a bit messy, which Shiro quickly does his best to tidy. Such a helpful (fake) boyfriend. “So that’s the lucky man, huh?” 

“Takashi Shirogane, but everyone just calls me Shiro,” he extends a hand to Lauren, who grabs and shakes it with a bit too aggressively. Their hands stay clasped for more time than your usual handshake before it becomes awkward, and they don’t seem to stop anytime soon, both firmly keeping eye contact. 

“That’s enough,” Lance breaks their hands apart after seeing the twitch in Lauren’s right eye. “Is Erik here?” 

“We broke up,” his brother shrugs, looking away, like ending a three years relationship is no big deal, “Which reminds me, if you have any friends to introduce me to…” 

Immediately, Lotor comes to mind. But thinking about Lotor dating his big brother is too fucking weird so he quickly erases that thought. And Lance knows his own brother. The fact that Lauren looked away when saying that means he isn’t over the breakup just yet. 

“Nope, nobody you’d be interested in,” he says innocently and hope the lie goes by Lauren’s detector, just like he hopes the lie of his and Shiro’s relationship did.

“So, how did you two meet?” Lauren questions, going towards the kitchen, if he catches any sign of a lie, he doesn’t show it, and that makes Lance breathe a little easier.

“At a club,” Lance says with an easy smile, he had thought this through. “Four months later and we’re working together. I’ve been his PA for eight months now, right, sweetie?” 

“Right, baby,” Shiro nods and smiles down at him, so _genuinely_ Lance feels an ache in his chest for believing it for a second, “Lance is the most gorgeous person I’ve ever met, inside and out, I’m glad I met him.” 

These words. Oh, how Lance wishes for them to be more than just words. 

“I’ve seen you in a magazine before,” Lauren points, serving five cups of cold lemonade, “Lance mentioned when you first starting dating that you’re a businessman, glad to know it’s going well.” 

“Did he now?” Shiro squints at Lance who only smiles. 

Actually, he’s kind of freaking out right now. Shiro isn’t supposed to know this fake boyfriend has been a lot similar to himself even before Lance offered to play the role, that’d be too creepy. And it would give away Lance’s crush, which is out of the question here. 

“Yeah, very impressive article,” Lauren hands out the drinks to Helena, Imani, Lance and Shiro, “Didn’t know you were attracted to men, though.” 

Lance wants to crawl over the counter and slap his brother’s face. That’s _so_ not something you say somebody you just met. He settles for a deathly glare, “Jesus, Lauren, haven’t Mama and Dad taught you manners?” 

“Hey, I only want to know if he’s not just a straight guy fooling around with you,” he shrugs and sips his drink. And he says _Lance_ is the brat.

“That’s okay, sweetheart,” Shiro squeezes Lance’s waist. Why does he keep doing that? It’s not like anyone around can see the gesture. Maybe Shiro just wants to do his best acting, and honestly Lance is not complaining, “I’m gay, actually. Not something relevant to business, though, so no need to put it in the article. And Lance and I have been together for a year now, pretty sure I wouldn’t have stayed this long if I had only planned to mess around.”

Damn, Shiro _is_ a good businessman, right now Lance is believing every word the man is saying, and by the the thumping in his chest, so is his dumb of a heart. God, he should have never agreed to this, what he had said to Allura and Lotor had been right, this is too dangerous. But it’s too fucking late to go back now. 

“I like him,” Lauren smirks at Helena, who raises her lemonade cup with a smile and drinks from it. 

“By the way, Lance, all of us have late birthday gifts for you,” Imani speaks up, clapping her hands together in excitement, “They’re two weeks late, but we’ll give them to you at the barbecue dinner tonight.” 

Shit. Lance had hoped nobody would bring up his birthday, but alas! Of course nothing turns out as he plans. He had a feeling Shiro would take it personally if Lance told he had hid his birthday. Therefore Lance hadn’t even touched the subject on their flight here, praying this little thing would go unnoticed. Clearly his prayers weren’t answered. 

“I can’t wait,” he says tightly as he feels Shiro stiffens beside him, but neither of them make another move. 

“What did you get for my little brother, Shiro?” Lauren chirps innocently, but his smirk is far from that. 

“Don’t mind Lauren,” Helena rolls her eyes, “He’s a materialist.”

Lauren promptly ignores her, “So?” He quirks an eyebrow when neither of them answer.

“A dress shirt!” Lance chimes in, closing his arms around Shiro’s waist. _Please play along, please play along_ , “He gave me a beautiful navy blue dress shirt.”

“Babe, that’s not true,” Shiro seems to have found his voice, which sounds surprisingly just as steady as before, and unfortunately he is not playing along, “He gets embarrassed about it, but I actually gave him a framed picture of what the stars looked like when he was born.” 

Damn, isn’t he a good actor. And damn, isn’t his heart a traitor for melting. 

“That’s so fucking _cheesy_ ,” Helena smiles fondly, “Lance must have loved it.”

“I did,” Lance brushes the tip of his nose along Shiro’s jaw, taking in his scent and allowing himself to close his eyes. A bold move to be honest, but the thought of Shiro actually giving him this kind of gift makes him weak, and Lance is allowed to pass it off as acting when they’re in front of his family. 

“Get a room,” Lauren chirps in, rolling his eyes, but Lance catches the genuine smile he’s trying to hide behind the cup of lemonade. 

The lie got past Lauren and his brother is _happy_ for them, which makes Lance feel incredibly guilty. In the end, he’s fooling his entire family into believing he’s happy with somebody he loves, not only himself. That’s enough to bring his mood down a little, but if anyone on the table notices, nobody comments on it. Shiro strokes a spot over Lance’s waist repeatedly though, and once again it’s a gesture no one can really notice, so Lance thinks perhaps Shiro has some nervous tic. 

They chat some more with Lance’s older siblings until his mom comes to snatch them away so Shiro can meet the rest of the family. The time Lance dreaded the most.

His aunts fuss about Shiro’s muscles, his uncles ask about his and Shiro’s job — except uncle Armando who wants to tell them about the sheep market in Australia — grandma _insists_ they eat some muffins and the kids fight over who Shiro will lift up first. 

“I bet he could lift us _all_ up _at the same time_ ,” Lance’s little sister Maria perks up. Joaquin, Lisa and Matteo cheer up with little firsts in the air, screaming ‘yeah!!’. 

“No, no, no,” hi mom reprehends, “No lifting today, Lance and Shiro are tired and need rest.” The kids let out little _boos_ and walk away with enormous pouts on their faces. Lance can relate to the disappointment, he would love to see Shiro lifting up all of his younger siblings, “Ay, these kids. Come now, your Dad has already brought your stuff to your room.” 

“Mrs. McClain I would have helped with the bags,” Shiro looks at her (adorably) concerned, following Lance up the stairs.

“No need, _mijo_ , my Juan is just as strong as you are,” she smiles down at them from a couple of steps ahead, “I left clean towers, robes and sheets on the cabinet by the balcony,” she says while unlocking the thick wood door in front of them, “Don’t forget that the barbecue dinner is at eight. If you two don’t show up, I’ll personally drag you.” 

The room they’ll be staying is the largest room in the house. It had been his grandparents’ before they moved to the small city close by to enjoy their retirement in peace and quiet in the country, something you can’t do at the McLain household. It’s decorated with heavy mahogany furniture and the softest carpet, a large window leading to a narrow balcony overlooking the sea, there’s a beautiful painting on top of the neat neutral wallpaper and the bed is… wait. 

“Oh, great!” Lance’s voice is maybe too high when he speaks, an awful habit he’s been picking up since this whole thing started. “One bed… thank you, Mama.”

“ _Mijo_ , don’t think I don’t know what is like to be a young couple in love. I’ll be downstair if you need anything,” she winks at them both before slipping out the door, the soft click and Lance’s growl of embarrassment being the only sound that follows it. 

There’s an excruciatingly awkward silence when Lance’s mom leaves them alone. Love, she said. Yeah. Love. Totally. Only true and honest feelings here. Of course. 

He eyes the master bed in the middle of the room with apprehension. Lance knows they’re supposed to be a couple… but sharing a bed? He’s not being paid enough for that. But you know, one problem at a time, and for now it’s enough that they’ve made it.

They’ve made it, yeah, but only through the reception and it had already been too much to handle. Is he really supposed to have Shiro calling him _baby_ and _holding his waist_ for three whole weeks? And, on top of that, sleep on the same goddamn bed? The sincerest apologies to his sister but looks like he is going to die of unrequited feelings before he makes it to his best man speech. 

Lance sighs heavily, but doesn’t say anything, not when the reality of it sinks and Shiro might realize how big of a mistake this was and book a flight back to New York. Instead, he starts unpacking in silence. A moment after and Shiro starts doing the same. 

"I wish you were that much fun in the office,” Shiro offers a start, sitting on the bed beside his luggage to make things more casual, and Lance looks up in shock. 

" _Fun_?" Not exactly the reaction he’s been expecting, about him or about the entire situation, really. 

"Yeah, you're great! I can't believe you've been hiding this side of you,” Shiro plays it cool, but there’s something in his eyes, like… hurt? No, it can’t be. Why would he be hurting over Lance not sharing his personal side? Or, to be honest, any side. 

“I thought-” He sighs, “I thought you'd find me excruciatingly annoying.” he says sheepishly, rubbing his neck. _Most people do._

"Far from it, Lance," Shiro bites his lip like he wants to say something else but decides against it, letting out a sigh and getting up from the bed to look out the window. "I’m sorry for pressuring you into bringing me. I’m not exactly the best kind of guy to introduce to your family, am I?" 

He can’t see Shiro’s face from where he stands, but from the tense way he’s holding his shoulders, Lance assumes it’s not exactly a content sigh. What in the world kind of question is that, anyway? Does Shiro not realize how downright _perfect_ he is in Lance’s eyes? In everyone’s eyes, let’s be realistic here. 

"Are you kidding me?" Lance scoffs in disbelief, wanting to walk over to Shiro and put his arms around his waist, he shakes his head lightly and gets rid of those silly thoughts instead. "Sir, you're the _best_ kind of guy to introduce to my family. They’re all absolutely smitten with you!” _And so am I_ , he longingly thinks. “My younger sisters all want you to be their Prince at their Quinceañeras, Mama is probably already planning our wedding, and you heard my grandma, she won’t settle for less than three kids.” 

Shiro turns his head, a little an amused expression on his face, his beautiful profile shining with the warm orange of the sundown. Lance’s heart does a loop and he physically holds himself from twitching his entire body when Shiro steps away from the window and takes a step towards him. 

“The bed isn’t a problem, I can sleep on the floor,” Shiro says with a crooked smile because yeah, the bed situation is awkward. 

“If my Mama knew you offered to sleep on the _floor_ for my sake she would love you even more,” He chuckles, “You’re my guest here, Sir, I’ll be sleeping on the floor while you take the bed. No discussions on the matter, I know how you like to contradict people. Nice try, though.”

Shiro only laughs and shakes his head, accepting his defeat on the bed matter, “Still can’t drop the Sir, huh?”

Lance shrugs, “Old habits die hard.”

Truth be told, calling Shiro ‘ _Sir_ ’ is a well needed reminder of what this situation really is. Just a boss helping his employee out. A very weird professional arrangement, but still, a professional one. Lance can’t let himself forget who Shiro really is and get too into it. 

Even though Shiro is okay with Lance being his extroverted self, Lance can’t afford to slip and end up telling him how strongly he feels for the man. That’s something he has to watch himself for, especially with this whole situation in the picture, another pet name from Shiro and Lance might as well get on his knees and confess. Or blow him. Or both

They unpack some more, throwing bits of conversation about the house and his family. Lance is glad Shiro doesn’t mention the birthday fiasco or the magazine loophole. It’s nice and comfortable. Scarily so. 

They decide to get some work done before facing Lance’s entire family again at dinner. Shiro sits behind the mahogany desk, frowning at the mess of documents in front of him, looking devastatingly gorgeous in casual clothes. Meanwhile Lance is sprawled over the soft bed, emailing companies and checking on their latest contract’s progress. It’s a very welcomed distraction to the thoughts bothering his head.

Thoughts like how perfectly Shiro’s hand seemed to fit on his waist, how good he smells up close, how _firm_ his muscles are underneath his clothes, or how his soft lips would feel against Lance’s own.

Sometimes when he looks up to check on Shiro, he is already looking at Lance with an indescribable expression on his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay but i'm kinda in love with lauren. anyone else??? 
> 
> comments are love!!! i appreciate every single of the


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my lovelies! i'm so sorry i didn't update last friday i had a massive writers block and couldn't write a sentence for dear life ;; 
> 
> huge thank you to my wonderful beta sara (@tomiekatanas on twitter) and my best friend kyle (@benishigure on twitter mithrarin on ao3). i would have probably given up on this fic or taken months to update without them lol

“Okay, buddy, only a few more hours and today is over. Congrats! Two weeks and six days to go.”

Lance looks at his reflection in his bathroom’s mirror. His and Shiro’s bathroom, to be exact, since they’re officially sharing a room from now on, thanks to his mom — and well, Lance himself, in the first place.

He thinks the blue floral printed shirt looks nice, bringing out his eyes especially with his hair up like this, and the tight shorts make his ass look great. If Shiro is going to make Lance fucking lose it with the small touches, he might as well get some payback. Perhaps get another blush out of Shiro. Lance couldn’t help but notice earlier how the red on the man’s face adorably brought out the scar on his nose.

Satisfied with the amount of deodorant and cologne, Lance steps out of the bathroom, “All yours, Sir.” He has to stop himself from batting his eyelashes, he’s feeling too confident in this outfit.

“Uh,” Shiro looks up from his phone and, sadly, a blush is nowhere to be seen. Lance does catch Shiro’s eyes going down his legs though, so it’s not a complete waste, “Right.”

If there’s something Lance is very confident in about himself, it’s his legs. So it pleases him immensely when he sits on the couch facing the bed, crossing his legs, and realizes Shiro is still looking. Not for long though, as Shiro clears his throat and hastily grabs his change of clothing, rushing inside the bathroom.

_Shiro: a billion, Lance: one._

Without anything better to do while Shiro showers and changes, Lance decides to call Lotor, who is probably at work and won’t pick up, but it’s worth a shot. While this is the place where he grew up, coming home this time feels completely foreign, given the circumstances. Not in a bad way, just… different. So hearing his best friend’s voice will give Lance the familiarity he is craving for.

“Is it my turn to be your boyfriend yet?” Lotor answers the phone. No _hellos_ as always, they’re way past that, “I can pack my stuff in an hour.”

“ _Fake_ boyfriend,” Lance rolls his eyes, but can’t help the smile on his lips, “And we all know you take at least two days to pack.”

“For you, just an hour.”

Lance snorts, “That’s what she said. Anyway, shouldn’t you be at work?”

He can hear Lotor’s smirk when the later replies, “I am. I was actually at a meeting, but your call sounded like it would be way more fun, so I said my hospitalized grandma was calling me and sneaked out.”

“Well, I’m flattered,” Lance drops his head to the back of the chair, taking a deep breath, “It’s day one and I’m already going crazy.” He gets straight to the point, there’s no reason to stall when they both know why he is really calling.

“Is he _that_ detestable?”

Lance glances at the bathroom door, he can hear the shower running, but there is no way he is going to risk Shiro overhearing any of what he’s about to say. He quickly makes his way to the balcony and closes the door behind him. It doesn’t feel private enough with the commotion for dinner preparations coming from right below him, but it will have to do.

“He’s the complete opposite of detestable and that’s the fucking problem,” Lance hushes into the phone, “He’s so sweet and _easy_ to be around, he keeps calling me _baby_ and it does things to me, Lotor.”

“I call you baby all the time!”

“That’s not the _point_ ,” he groans, “The point is that I’m liking all of this. I like when he calls me baby, when he touches me, when he smiles at me, and I want _more._ Shit, I even want to encourage it. I’m wearing my denim shorts, for God’s sake! I’ve always thought maybe this was just some puppy love, but it feels… different,” he runs his hands through his hair exasperatedly. Lance hears Lotor sighing on his end of the line. He leans down on the balcony’s railing, it feels cool against his warm skin and somewhat grounding, “My stupid heart is falling for this act and the landing isn’t going to be pretty.”

“Lance,” Lotor’s voice is heavy, “It is okay to _want_ him. You’ve had a crush on him for years now, so it is only natural for this attraction to grow when you find out he is an actual Prince Charming. Don’t demonize your feelings just because he may not feel the same.”

“ _May_ ,” Lance scoffs.

“Shut up and listen to me,” Lotor reprehends, and Lance shuts his mouth because this is one of the few occasions he has ever heard his friend being this serious, “You need to get it through that thick skull of yours that you don’t know how he feels. You know nothing because you’re not in his head. This baseless certainty that your feelings aren’t reciprocated is so fucking harmful to you. I know it is hard to let go of it, but you need to try and be hopeful for once even if him liking you back sounds completely out of this world. Which in my perspective, it is not. He agreed to be your fake boyfriend, dammit, and that tells _me_ something.

“I haven’t seen you like this with anyone since we _met_ , and that was a long fucking time ago. You can either get over it, or be an adult and open up about your feelings to him. The decision to do something is yours only, but I have to say you would be an idiot to throw this away, and I a terrible friend for letting you.”

Lance wants to say Lotor lost his fucking mind. He wants to say that there is no way Shiro would ever like him back, because guys like him — charming, good-hearted — don’t end up with guys like Lance — annoying, mediocre. Except Lotor makes a great fucking job at planting a seed of doubt in his head. For the first time there are a few positive _what ifs_ going through his mind.

“I don’t know… I need more time to think,” he sighs. Lance doesn’t even know if he _wants_ to think, really. He always ends up making a big deal out of things and getting paranoid over them, which leads to him ruining everything. Maybe not thinking is better, “If he knew how I want to kiss him senseless, then I could _really_ lose my job…”

“I know how much you like your job, but losing it is not the end of the world,” Lotor’s voice is softer now, “There are many other great companies that would love to have you working for them.”

Lance knows his best friend is right, his life doesn’t depend on his job, but he just loves it there. The comforting atmosphere of their private floor, reviewing and improving projects, managing meetings, he even considered applying for a promotion at the end of the year, the only thing making him hesitate a little was the fact that he wouldn’t be Shiro’s PA anymore.

Lotor takes the silence that follows as a cue to speak again, “Lance, sweetheart, you know I am right.”

He feels almost exposed out there in the balcony with Lotor stirring his thoughts, like his family who are gathering a few feet under the balcony can hear to them. Lance walks back inside the room, throwing himself down on the bed in frustration, “I wish you and Allura were here with me,” He swiftly changes topic, not wanting to dwell on the mess in his head any longer.

Lotor sighs dramatically, “I offered to go, you _rejected_ me. Left me in New York, cold and alone…”

“You’re so fucking dramatic,” Lance rolls his eyes.

“Says the one who won’t let himself have some happiness in life because of a job,”

He hears the bathroom’s door opening. A glance over his shoulder to check on his boss and Lance’s long time suspicions are confirmed: Shiro is a fashion disaster. While his boss looks dashing wearing those black slacks and white dress shirt, it’s in no way appropriate or comfortable for a barbecue dinner at the beach.

Lance snorts into the phone, “Gotta go, duty calls.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Lotor snickers, “Don’t forget what I said. Now go enjoy the man of your dreams. Laugh with him, touch and smile at him. Let yourself have some fun, you deserve it.”

Lance can’t help the hopeless smile on his face, “Thank you so much for your wise words, my whiny prince. And get back to work.”

“As you wish, my stubborn prince. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Lance hangs up and turns on the bed to lay on his stomach. He watches as Shiro fumbles with the sleeve buttons with fondness, because maybe… maybe he _is_ allowed to want, to touch. To give happiness a chance.

He decides this is not the time to think this through or he would just end up calling Lotor again, and right now he has a serious fashion emergency in hands.

“Where is the meeting?” Lance raises an eyebrow amusingly.

“What? Too much?” Shiro looks down at himself and asks almost bashfully.

“Sir, this isn’t the office, it’s the beach,” Lance smiles softly, guess the guy really doesn’t do much other than work, “Didn’t you bring any casual jeans? I don’t know, _khakis_?”

Lord, please don’t let Shiro’s only flaw be fucking khakis.

“Well, I bought a pair of jeans to bring with me, but I thought this would be more appropriate for a dinner with your parents,” he smiles sheepishly.

Okay, Lance could definitely let the clothing pass by when Shiro puts it like that.

“It’s nothing formal though, my parents like to make dinner more of a closed thing so no hundreds of people will be there. You can relax. If that word even exists in your vocabulary,” Lances gets up from the bed quickly, he is excited to see Shiro in anything that doesn’t resemble a suit, “Where are the new jeans? Let’s take these babies for a test drive.”

“For your information, I do know how to relax. I told you I like to garden and watch movies when I have the time,” Shiro grumbles, walking to his side of the wardrobe and pulling out a pair of light blue jeans among all the dark slacks.

“What about relaxing with other human beings instead of just your cat?” Lance’s palms touch Shiro’s chest, pushing him back into the bathroom and trying not to get distracted (as always when it comes to Shiro) by how his boss’ muscles feel under his hands, “Back in there.”

“What’s wrong with Black?” the almost offended question comes from the other side of the door.

“Absolutely nothing! I’m sure she is a darling,” Lance answers, “But I think it would be good for you to have interactions with people outside the office.”

“We are interacting and we aren’t at the office,” the bathroom’s door open and Shiro steps out, “Better now?” he looks like he is about to rolls his eyes, it’s adorably amusing.

“This doesn’t count. I’m still your employee,” Lance squints his eyes, looking Shiro over. The jeans hug his thighs perfectly and he even tucked the dress shirt inside, “This looks way better. Now if we just…” Lance crouches down and begins to fold the hems at Shiro’s ankles for a more casual look.

“Uh,” Shiro shifts his feet slightly, “So what if you’re my employee?”

“I don’t count, Sir,” Lance blurts out. The ‘Sir’ tastes weird in his mouth, like it doesn’t belong there — anywhere, really.

He finishes folding the other hem and looks up at Shiro through his eyelashes. Which may not have been a good idea because their current position makes Lance’s thoughts take a whole another direction. A not so innocent one. He has to admit, the view is really something.

Shiro doesn’t look away, “Of course you count, Lance.”

Lance stands up slowly, their bodies barely distant. The air feels heavy, hot and it reminds Lance of that one time back at Shiro’s office, when they were so close he could count his eyelashes. It is just as fragile and intimate.

“If you say so,” Lance shrugs, nonchalant, “Maybe if I…” he reaches for the collar of Shiro’s shirt without a moment of hesitation, slowly undoing the first three buttons.

He can’t help but stare at the expanse of pale skin the fabric reveals as it parts beneath his fingers. Lance notices a few faint scars near Shiro’s collarbones and holds back the urge to trace it with his fingers. Shiro’s chest radiates warmth like he is a fucking furnace, like it’s his personal goal to make Lance’s resolve crumble.

Tilting his head back with a tight smile stretching across his suddenly too dry lips, Lance notices the bob of Shiro’s adam’s apple as he swallows thickly before looking straight into his eyes, his boss seeming as aware of this… this _tension_ as he is, almost tangible in the air they share.

Lance is so very conscious of his every move, his breathing, his proximity. He wants _this_ to escalate until there is no distance between them, until their bodies touch and their mouths collide.

Speaking now feels almost wrong in a way, “Perfect. Now the sleeves…” his voice is low, filled with _lust_ and he prays Shiro won’t notice as Lance reaches for his wrist.

In less than a second Shiro isn’t in his grasp anymore. Lance can’t feel Shiro’s breath on his forehead and the warmth of his body is absent. Whatever spell was being cast between them is now far gone, replaced with a heavy tenseness that settles between them awkwardly.

“Sorry,” Shiro says quietly, touching his right arm instinctively, “I’d rather keep the sleeves down.”

Of course Lance had to ruin everything. He hopes Shiro knows that making him uncomfortable was the last thing on Lance’s list. It just didn’t cross his mind at the moment that Shiro might be self conscious of his arm.  

“Looks handsome either way,” Lance says with all the honesty in his heart — because really, Shiro is stunning in anything — and he hopes the other knows that he means it, “Let’s head downstairs, my mom wasn’t kidding when she said she would come here personally if we were late.”

They walk out of the room in silence. Shiro looks apologetic, apprehensive, as if he feels bad for having a completely reasonable reaction to having his boundaries overstepped. Lance doesn’t like that look on him. And if anyone here should be feeling bad that one ought to be Lance. He is the one who had his head in his pants and didn’t realize he was crossing a delicate line there.

“Can I… hold your hand?” Lance asks quietly as they approach the kitchen where they know someone would be in. Shiro only nods.

Lance sidesteps to Shiro’s right side, reaching for his prosthetic hand and intertwining their fingers firmly. It feels cool against his warm skin, Lance likes it. Shiro stops in his tracks, looking almost shocked at Lance. He gives Shiro a warm smile, hoping his actions would speak louder than any words he could say.

“Lance…”

“You didn’t say which hand,” he simply shrugs.

If Shiro’s personal goal is to make Lance’s resolve crumble, Lance’s is to make sure Shiro knows that a prosthetic doesn’t make him any less of a beautiful being.

He tugs gently at his boss’ hand, guiding him to the kitchen, where only Helena and Imani can be found, talking quietly over glasses of wine behind the kitchen counter.

“The best couple on earth has arrived,” Lance chimes in, gladly welcoming the lighter mood.

“Imani and I have been here for hours though,” Helena looks up with a smirk and Imani does the same, they honestly deserve each other, “Mama was about to go upstairs and drag you two here by the ear. I wasn’t going to stop her, it would be really fun to watch.”

“Your developed sense of humor amazes me,” Lance rolls his eyes, “I hope the grill is hot and bothered ‘cause we’re starving.”

The four of them head out the door and walk towards the white backgate where a round table has been arranged. Lance forgot how much he loved celebratory dinners at home. His parents would get the nice cutlery out and set up fairy lights all over the backyard with soothing guitar music playing somewhere in the background — his mom says it refrains him and his siblings from arguing too much. There is an almost romantic feel to it and he is suddenly very pleased to be holding Shiro’s hand. _Let yourself enjoy this._

Lance approaches his parents by the grill, kissing his mom’s forehead and his dad’s cheek, “Hope we aren’t late.”

“Got here just in time,” his dad smiles proudly at the steaks on the grill.

Shiro shifts his weight casually beside him, their hands still firmly clasped together, much to Lance’s delight, “It smells amazing, Mr. McClain.”

“And tastes even better, _mijo_ ,” Lance’s mom strokes Shiro’s shoulder affectionately, “Go sit down, we’re aged but we can still grill without supervision.”

The kids are playing in the sand not very far beyond the gate, but the trio are too immersed in digging around a sandcastle (which Lance’s mom would _freak_ if she sees the sand covering every inch of their bodies right before dinner) to even pay attention to him and Shiro. And one would think they missed their big brother.

Lance takes the seat beside Lauren, he is not about to put Shiro through his brother’s inconvenient remarks and somewhat hostile behavior. Valentina sits next to Lauren but she is too busy talking frantically to Imani on her other side to pay him any attention.

Valentina has been a suckup for Helena’s fiancé since their sister brought her girlfriend home. She picked up on all of Imani’s habits over time from the way Imani gesticulating when she talks to the different tiaras on her hair. It is actually a surprise when Valentina takes her eyes away from Imani, who was beginning to look a little lost with the all the talking, and turns towards Lance.

“That’s your boyfriend, isn’t he!” Valentina eyes Shiro entire frame with her shiny teenage eyes, “Lancey, he is _so_ handsome!”

Lance can’t help the tender smile on his lips, “Don’t I know it,” he is a weak man and will stand by every compliment people throw at Shiro.

“Does he have a brother?” she perks up, hands resting under her chin. If there is something Valentina likes more than Imani, that thing is _boys._

Lauren rolls his eyes exaderely, “He is sitting right there, Val, ask him yourself.”

She shifts in her seat, her wavy dark hair bouncing fluffily, and gives Shiro her best puppy eyes, that look extremely like Lance’s own, “So…?”

“No blood brothers. But I do have a best friend, Keith, he is like a brother to me,” he smiles kindly.

Lance does remember Shiro mentioning this Keith guy on their way here, who went to college with him and is in charge of feeding Black when Shiro gets home way past her dinner time. Lance would be lying if he said he wasn’t a tiny bit jealous of the fact that Shiro goes home to somebody that isn’t him (just sometimes, but still).

“Oh!” Valentina practically glows in excitement, “Is he coming to the wedding? Is he handsome like you? Does he likes dogs?”

“Valentina, you’re seventeen,” Lance makes a face at his sister, “Keith is probably Shiro’s age. He’s too old for you.”

“I like older guys!” she protests grumpily.

Lauren grunts in displeasure, “Please, not this again.”

“Listen, Lauren, just because—”

“The steaks are ready!” Lance’s mom cheerily — and thankfully — interrupts Valentina’s inevitable speech about _being a grown up and knowing what she wants._

Lance hadn’t realized how hungry he was, but the delicious smell of his parents cooking gladly reminded him. Apparently Shiro hadn’t realized how hungry he was either, since both of them start eating along with Lance’s family and don’t even say a word in the conversation going on around them. His family doesn’t insist on talking to them, clearly noticing their sole attention on the food.

Another round of steaks and Lance can actually pay some attention to something other than his plate, like the glass of wine in front of him, which he gladly takes a large sip from. His hand find Shiro’s over the table, just because he wants to touch him in some way and this scenario is the perfect excuse to do so.

Shiro and Lance’s mom find out they share a love for gardening and have been talking about what is the best way to care of your orchids for solid ten minutes now. Lance doesn’t know much about gardening, but Shiro sounds like a genius to him as he explains how to make a support for your plant and the right hours to water them.

Lance has always heard people say that when you like someone you can’t take your eyes away from them. He hadn’t believed it until now. The sight of Shiro merely talking and smiling under the fairy lights around them is hypnotizing. How his eyes crinkle lightly around the edges when he laughs lowly and how his nose twitches when he tries to repress it. It’s beautiful. And those tiny hopeful seeds from earlier begin to bloom.

“Time for late presents!” Imani cheers, brutally snapping Lance out of his thoughts, “I’ll get them.”

Lance groans as he watches the woman walk inside the house, “You guys didn’t have to buy me anything,” he hides his face in one hand, hopefully his red cheeks will pass as modesty.

“We know how much you love your birthday and receivings gifts,” his dad says, “I imagine how you reacted with Shiro’s gift.”

He feels Shiro squeeze his hand for a second. Maybe a reflex, but Lance takes it as a _‘this one’s for you’._

_Another large fucking sip of that wine, please._

“I can’t tell you my reaction on the table, there are kids around,” he grins knowingly — fakely.

“Steamy,” Lauren snorts from beside him and Lance slaps his arms.

A look at Shiro’s almost smug expression and Lance wants to disappear. It’s like he _knows_ Lance would reward him like that. _Cocky motherfucker,_ he begrudgingly thinks when the glass of wine touch his lips again.

Imani comes back to the table with four boxes in different sizes, distracting everyone from the previous subject. Except Lance. And Shiro, apparently, who is still looking at Lance like a convinced fool. He promptly ignores it, rolling his eyes and sipping that good wine.

“I’m the oldest, so mine first,” Lauren grabs a small box wrapped in holographic blue paper and hands it to a suddenly very eager Lance.

Lauren may be a pretentious prick but he always gives the best gifts, he can be very considerate when he wants to and often pay attention to the small things. Lance has to resist the urge to make grabby hands for the package.

“New earphones!” he smiles widely at the sight of the blue accessory with little plastic dolphins at the earbuds.

“I know yours are broken,” Lauren grins coyly at him, examining Lance face to try and find any signs that he hates the gift. Which is impossible and he knows it.

“I love it, Lauren,” he leans to plant a kiss on his brother’s cheek, “Thank you. I can finally listen to ABBA with both ears!”

“And Britney Spears,” Shiro adds amusedly.

“You still listen to her?” Helena makes a face, “Are you still ten?”

“Shut up, Helena,” Lance glares daggers at his sister, “She’s a timeless icon.”

Shiro laughs loudly beside him, “You don't mess with Britney near him, Helena, he knows all the moves from Toxic.”

Lance _almost_ touches his chest in affection at that. 

“Fine, fine, whatever,” her grin suspiciously too wide, “open mine and Imani’s now,” she hands him the medium box wrapped in baby pink which Lance takes hesitantly. Helena has a name for worst gifts ever, and poor Imani has gotten it too. It’s a package deal, after all.

He rips the paper cautiously, expecting something like a living, poisonous snake to pop out and bite him in the face. When he opens the box though, it’s somehow even worse than a snake.

“Oh….” Lance can’t tear his eyes away from the pieces of porcelain in his hands, “Matching mugs… thank you, Helena.” He grimaces, staring at the _Mr._ written in black bold letter in both items.

“I bought it as a joke but given Shiro’s present to you, I think he actually loves it.”

And Shiro does. Or at least he looks like he does when he grabs one of them from Lance’s hand to scan it better.

“They’re perfect! We can use it at the office, right baby?” Shiro smiles so brightly it sends a pang of pain to Lance’s heart.

Lance swallows his will to frown, “Right! It will look super nice next to your pen holder.”

He lets go of the mug, it feels heavy and wrong in his hand. Lance takes the glass of wine instead, and tries not to choke on the wine when he feels a strong arm around his shoulders, as heavy as the mug feels.

Imani chuckles, her hand wrapping around Helena’s over the table. “You’re getting soft, Lancey.”

“I don’t know what you mean, I’ve always been a sweetheart,” he tries his damn best to shrug casually.

When his parents and Valentina hand him their gifts, Lance hopes that nobody notices his hands shaking lightly. But by the way Shiro’s hand on his shoulder tightens, of course he noticed.

Lance’s eyes spot the two mugs firmly planted at the table, staring at him. Can mugs judge you? ‘Cause these ones were sentencing Lance to something he can’t place, but he absolutely hates it nonetheless. They are just mugs, dammit, why does it bother him so much? Maybe because he was slowly coming to terms with himself and those items served as a painful reminder of how unattainable Shiro really is. How this is all bullshit.

He isn’t really paying attention to the conversation anymore, his mind elsewhere, and Shiro’s small caresses on his shoulders the only thing Lance is _(very)_ aware of.

“Attention all seven of you,” Helena‘s loud voice and her fork hitting her glass not so graciously snaps Lance from his weird trance, “and children.” She winks at the kids who have stopped running around, “I’d like to make a toast.”

“It wouldn’t be our family’s dinner if you didn’t,” Lauren chirps in, but is promptly brushed off.

Helena turns to Imani, holding her fiancé’s hands so firmly between hers Lance can see her knuckles turn white, but none of them seem to care. They only have eyes for each other and it truly touches Lance’s heart. He can’t help but indulge in some wishful thinking.

“Imani,” Helena takes a deep breath, “I love you more than you can even imagine. You’re the one for me, and marrying you will make me the happiest woman in the entire world. Hell, I already am. I want a whole family with you, I want my whole future with you,” her voice is filled with emotion and Lance is pretty sure there are some tears threatening to push their way out in both women, “I am unimaginably lucky to have found my soulmate. I’m pretty sure some of you here have found yours, too,” she turns to her parents, and then to Shiro and Lance, who gulps hard. _This isn’t good_ , “So I want to make a toast, to the future and to love.”

Helena lets go of one of Imani’s hand, taking her glass and raising it up high. Everyone around does the same, including Lance, even if he feels like his arms aren’t under his control anymore.

“To love,” they cheer. Lance can faintly hear his mom sniffing and Imani chuckling through some tears.

“And all the couples better give each other a big smooch!”

Oh. There it fucking is.

He knew something was up the moment Helena laid her eyes on him, he just _knew_ her intentions painstakingly obvious in the way she looks at them both. He _knew_ this was meant to happen at some point during this trip, _knew_ he’d have to muster up the emotional strength to deal with being so... _close_ to someone that still seems so out of reach despite being by his side everyday, like a faraway dream.

Touching each other and holding hands and everything they’ve done so far were all buildup that he was comfortable with because it’s what he normally does, it’s what he’s known for. But kissing - kissing takes it to a level he isn’t mentally prepared for, kissing is _intimate_ , isn’t something he does with Allura or Lotor or any of the other people who are present in his life. Curse his hopeless romanticism but kissing is something that _lovers_ do and Shiro and him aren’t lovers, they’re only pretending to be. Their relationship is nothing but a show, what was Lance even thinking when he considered allowing himself a chance?

As much as he wants to, Lance can’t downright panic and just scream, they have to act like this is normal, like they kiss all the goddamn time. If he takes too long to react his family will find it suspicious, they will uncover everything right away. The only thing Lance is able to do before he overthinks the situation is to make a dive for it while, eyes tightly shut while trying his best to keep his expression as impassive as he can.

The next thing he feels is Shiro’s lips on his own. It’s a simple, chaste kiss. Their mouths fit together like two puzzle pieces, Shiro’s chapped lips pressing against his own just long enough to satisfy his family.

If sparks were a thing, he is pretty sure there would be thousands gleaming over him. It feels fucking amazing. Lance has imagined this moment over a thousand times, yet nothing he ever thought of compares to the real thing, even if it lasted mere seconds. There is a heavy feeling in his chest that was never present in his imaginary scenarios though, like it shouldn’t hurt yet it _does,_ something about it tugging on his heartstrings in a way he loathes to admit.

Lance smiles coyly when they part, pretending his chest doesn’t ache at the sight of Shiro’s own grin and the weight of his arm around Lance’s shoulder, pretending this is all normal, pretending they’re together. He can already feel a headache coming on, a dull pain between his eyes caused by the emotions wreaking havoc in his brain or all the wine he’s drunk tonight. Or both. He can’t tell.

His mom says something, clearly aimed towards them, but Lance can’t really focus on her words, his mind too loud, his breathing too difficult. Lance’s eyes fall to the pair of mugs on the table in front of him,  the sight — the _meaning_ — of the objects only worsen the burn in his heart and the pain in his head.

“I’m thirsty,” Surprisingly, neither voice nor grin falter. Damn, isn’t he good at this acting thing, “I’ll go inside to get some fresh water.”

He doesn’t wait for any acknowledgment, not when his hands are trembling and the air outside feels suffocating. Abruptly standing up from his seat, Lance turns around and heads straight to the kitchen’s backdoor with wobbly legs, the path seeming way longer and harder to cross than before.

The air in the kitchen isn’t much better than outside, but at least being away from everybody feels… safe. Lance just needs few minutes alone, he’s had too much to drink and his emotions are about to burst, not sure if in a good way. Is this how the two weeks to come are going to be? His emotions overflowing and his head making him panic? Maybe it would be for the best if he clears things up with his family and stop putting Shiro through this — through _him_ — so they can get back to work like normal.

 _Oh, God. I just kissed Shiro. I just kissed my_ boss.

This chain of thought takes Lance’s mind spiraling again. It hits him like a punch in the gut and he has to hold onto the balcony for some kind of support. It’s like all the progress they’ve made, all the reassurance Lance received from Shiro disappears in an instant. Shiro’s kind words, their comfortable and fun little moments just _gone_. His initial fear is back, stronger than ever and this is where his life will finally crumble. Long overdue, in his opinion. He wants to blame Helena, blame his family for putting them in these affectional situations, but in all honesty, the only one he can truly blame is himself.

“Lance?” Comes the voice he is very familiar with by now. Lance isn’t sure though if he can trust the softness in it, “Are you alright?” he feels Shiro’s presence behind him.

He couldn’t hear the door opening or closing while immersed in his thoughts, and now wants nothing more than to turn around and let himself fall into Shiro’s arms, trying his best to remain composed even though he seeks comfort so badly from his _boss_ of all people, every rational part of his brain telling him to stay back at all costs. He recalls the moment back in office and how steady he had felt after Shiro helped him and Lance so desperately wants to feel that again but this time it’s different, they’ve kissed and he’s crossed every boundary he had set when they found themselves tangled in this delicate situation.

“Sir,” Lance breathes out, almost like a choke, “I’m so sorry, I’m— I didn’t know she would—”

“Lance,” Shiro calls him again, but he doesn’t dare to look up. Lance isn’t sure if his vision is getting blurred because of the wine or the tightness on his throat, “If this is about the kiss it’s fine, really. Look at me.”

“No,” He shakes his head vigorously, making him even dizzier, “You hate me now, you’ll fire me and never want to look at me again, but it’s okay. I understand, I really do, Sir.”

“Lance, please,” Shiro pleading voice makes Lance’s knees weak and his willpower falter, so he turns around, back firmly glued to the balcony. The sight of Shiro is merciless on his heart so he quickly looks away.  

He keeps on rambling, like it’s going to spare him the shame and embarrassment to get fired in his parent’s kitchen, “I— I’ll pack your things, book the next flight back to New York, and—”

In two long strides he is right in front of Lance, so close they’re breathing each other’s air, Shiro’s hands on either side of him and their chest just an inch from fully touching. Lance grips the balcony so tightly his knuckles are probably white, his heartbeat changing pace abruptly. He tilts his head back and is met with Shiro’s intense gaze, his brows furrowed.

“Lance,” any trace of kindness in Shiro’s voice is now gone, replaced by a rather commanding and almost frustrated tone. Lance blames it on the wine for being mildly turned on, “I usually like your rambling but right now it’s really getting on my nerves.”

Shiro’s sudden and frankly surprising outburst knocks the breath out of Lance’s lungs, his eyes wide as he stares at his boss in utter disbelief. His mouth opens and closes countless of times like a fish out of water but no words come out, except for a dumb “Uh,”

“I won’t fire you,” Shiro voice is low and steady, Lance can smell the same wine he’s been having all night in his breath, “Your actions out of the office do not reflect your amazing work ethic. I meant it when I said that you’re the best person I’ve ever hired and I’m not letting you go so easily if that’s what you’re thinking,” his smirk is infuriatingly hot.

“You can if you hate me,” Lance chuckles dry and humorlessly. He’s tired of these insecurities, maybe it’s best if he just… let go.

Shiro lets out a small indignant sound, “I could never hate you, how could you think that?”

Lance chooses to ignore the subject of his very romantic feelings and goes straight for the obvious, “I should have talked about this with you, you know… the kissing thing. It just never crossed my mind we would _actually_ do it,” _Oh, what a lie._ “I acted out of peer pressure and it bothers me to cross that line when you didn’t even agreed to it.”

“I understand it was a out of the blue thing. I must confess I was surprised,” Shiro chuckles, “But kissing is okay. I didn’t walk into this blindfolded, I knew we would have to do it sooner or later, I just expected it to be later…”

The thing is that Shiro isn’t affected by this as much as Lance is. Shiro doesn’t feel butterflies, doesn’t imagine sparks around them, doesn’t crave for _more._ He is willing to kiss Lance because he _has_ to, and somehow that hurts even more.

Lance shakes his head softly, looking down at Shiro’s chest, “That still doesn’t excuse it, Sir.”

“I think it’s time you drop the Sir,” he says firmly, “If you don’t want to call me _sweetheart_ or whatever all the time, then just call me Shiro.”

“What?” That tiny detail is the only thing keeping Lance away from fully diving into this nonsense, this fairytale. “Are you sure?” Is Lance himself even sure? 

“Even your parents do it,” Shiro does a face that is his equivalent of an eye roll, but his voice is encouraging and kind, “Just try it.”

Shiro doesn’t look like he is going to slap a dismissal letter on his face anytime soon, he actually looks patient. Something about him makes Lance trust Shiro with his life. So he does.

Lance’s voice is just above a whisper when he says it, “Shiro.”

Any reminiscent nervousness that is left in him is gone when Shiro smiles like the fucking sun, “Perfect.”

Lance lets out a deep breath with a shaky laughter, the tension dissipating from his muscles and all he wants is to melt in the very inviting arms on the man in front of him. They’re still so close, he just has to lean in… _No, bad Lance._

He settles for patting Shiro’s chest lightly — he can’t miss the opportunity when it presents itself to him, “I promise we’ll only kiss when _extremely_ necessary.”

“Yeah,” Shiro clears his throat, stepping away, and Lance wants to pull his arms back around him where they belong, “Of course. Deal.”  

“Let’s just go upstairs,” Lance lets out a heavy sigh and runs his hands through his hair, his headache still present, “I’m officially exhausted.”

“It was a long day,” Shiro nods, “But shouldn’t we warn your family first? Say goodnight?”

“It’s fine, they probably knew the second you came after me we weren’t going back,” Lance shrugs, already walking towards the stairs, too drained to do anything else.

When Shiro tells Lance can use the bathroom first he doesn’t even think twice before accepting. The hot water running down his body feels incredible and _so_ relaxing he could cry. He does cry a bit, actually. He is tired of the constant inner turmoil in his head and heart, but things seem… okay. He genuinely feels like he can enjoy this trip for what it is from now on. _Took you long enough._ Cheers to Shiro’s ever patience for that.

The minute he hears Shiro in the shower, Lance begins to set up some comforters and a pillow on the floor next to the bed. He knows Shiro will try to convince him to sleep on the bed instead and Lance’s headache can’t handle that right now, so he just shifts under one of the blankets and tries to find a comfortable position.   

“Are you sure you don’t want the bed?” Shiro peaks his head from the bed after coming out again, eyeing Lance adorably.

“Don’t even start,” Lance groans, eyes closing heavily, “I’m physically unable to move even if I wanted to.”

“I can always pick you up.”

“In my current state I wouldn’t even stop you, but know that I can and will fight you tomorrow.”

The low laughter that comes is music to his ears, “Goodnight, Lance.”

“Goodnight, Shiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you all liked this chapter,, i'm really insecure about it since it was so hard for me to write for some ungodly reason,, 
> 
> comments are love!! let me know what you think! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 2am but hey, it's still technically friday 
> 
> as always, thank you to my queen sara (@tomiekatanas on twitter) for being my beta

Lance is mercilessly ripped out of a peaceful, delicious sleep by three hard knocks at the door. He knows who it is right away, years and years of being woken up like that in the past makes it easy to distinguish his mom’s resolute bangs on the door.

“Are you two lovebirds decent?” Lance’s mom cheers outside the door. 

His still sleep fogged brain has mere moments to process their current setting. Lance on the floor, Shiro on the bed. Yeah, definitely weird for a couple who is apparently madly in love. And his mom is too smart to fall for any lame excuses he could give. 

Lance’s only reaction is to hurriedly swipe all the blankets and pillows he slept with under the bed and exasperatedly climb on the mattress, harshly bumping on all of Shiro’s limbs and waking the man up with a startle that almost sends them flying off the bed. 

“Shh,” Lance gestures wide eyed to a just as confused Shiro, both their brains not able to properly handle surprises in the morning. Lance quickly — and maybe too harshly — pushes Shiro down on the bed again, settling himself on Shiro’s side under the covers and draping his arm around the man’s torso, “Come in!” 

His mom enters the room in all her glory at whatever ungodly hour in the morning it is, carrying a huge tray filled with breakfast food, “It’s Shiro’s first morning here and you haven’t been home in a long time, so I thought of doing something nice,” She smiles brightly and approaches the bed, setting the tray on the nightstand, “Don’t get used to it though. Breakfast is at eight every morning. You miss it, you make your own food.” 

Lance pretends to give a long, lazy stretch, sitting on the bed and reluctantly detaching himself from Shiro who feels too warm and too comfy right now, “Thank you, Mama.” 

“Everyone is going to the beach in an hour, you two are obviously welcomed to join,” She clasps her hands together and looks down at them knowingly, “But we understand if you want to stay and enjoy yourselves, I bet you barely have the time in New York.”

“Mama…” Lance groans in embarrassment. His mom insinuating he and Shiro are going to fuck like rabbits is the last thing he needs right now, “We’ll be there.”

Lance’s mom leaves the room and he exhales heavily, leaning on the bed’s headboard and letting his eyes fall on Shiro. Which may not have been a good idea. 

Shiro’s shirt had ridden up during the commotion and now Lance can see the expanse of his six pack. Fuck. Lance had felt it countless times when they were playing lovey-dovey for his family but actually seeing the hard, perfectly sculpted muscles is something entirely different. His eyes fall upon the dark happy trail by accident — total fucking accident — and he wants nothing more than to reach for it, feel the soft hairs under his fingers and drag them lower and lower…

“Well,” Lance clears his throat before he starts fucking _drooling_ , “Good morning.” 

Shiro lets out a breathy laugh, “How did you know that having all my limbs stepped on is my favorite way to wake up?” his voice is rough and low from sleep and it does _things_ to Lance. 

“Kinky,” Lance wiggles his brows in amusement. He then notices Shiro’s metal prosthetic still attached to him and frowns, “Wait, you slept with the prosthetic on?” He points at it, “Doesn’t it hurt?” 

“Not really,” Shiro shrugs and rubs his eyes, trying to shoo the sleepiness away, “It’s uncomfortable but I can’t feel it anymore once I fall asleep.”

“Shiro…” Lance tries his best to not sound reprimanding, it’s not his place to do so. 

“It’s a pain to put it on by myself so I rather keep it full time,” Shiro says easily, probably still groggy from sleep to be talking so casually about it instead of the usual skittishness. 

Lance frowns harder, “I don’t know much about the subject but that must _not_ be healthy or comfortable for you,” He would willingly help Shiro put it on every morning, but he isn’t sure if he can cross that line yet.

“It’s fine, Lance, I’m used to it by now,” Shiro then notices the state his shirt is in and pulls it down (a good deed for Lance’s sanity), “The food smells amazing. I’m starving,”

Instead of pressuring the subject, Lance reaches for the tray beside him, carefully balancing it on his hand and settling it between them on the bed. Lance’s own mouth starts to salivate as he looks at the different types of bread, honey, cheeses, fruits and the cold jar of fresh juice. 

“This is one hell of a breakfast,” Shiro scratches his jaw lazily where a stubble is starting to make an appearance. _Like a cat_ , Lance thinks.

“In all my years I’ve only seen my mom bring breakfast to someone in bed twice. When my dad got really sick and when Helena brought Imani over for the first time,” Lance mindlessly says while spreading honey on a delicious looking toast, but he stops when he realizes what this means, “She is really happy for… us” _Really happy for a fraud_ , “She’ll be devastated when I announce we broke up after the wedding.”

Shiro is still laying motionless in bed, hair fluffy and mussed from sleep, looking at Lance with an almost blank face, “They’ll get over it. Everyone will.” 

Except probably Lance. 

They eat breakfast in pleasant conversation, spending a few more minutes laying around in bed and eating slices of papaya before mustering up the courage to get up. Shiro, modest as always, grabs a bundle of clothes and disappears behind the bathroom’s door. Meanwhile Lance promptly takes his pajamas off and gets in his blue swim trunks, snatching his sunglasses and a couple of towels from the wardrobe. 

Lance heads out to the balcony for a moment to check upon the weather, a big smile taking over his lips when he concludes it is perfect for a beach day. The sun instantly warms his skin and the salty smell in the air makes him shiver pleasantly. He is _expectant._

“Hurry up, Shiro!” Lance yells excitedly once he’s back in the room. 

“I’m ready, I’m ready,” Shiro just keeps proving Lance’s point of not having been at the beach that many times. The black swim trunks are okay, but the long sleeved black shirt and flip flops? Oh boy.

“You don’t need flip flops, the beach is literally our backyard,” Lance snorts, “And you’re gonna melt with that shirt.” 

Shiro does the thing where he _almost_ rolls his eyes and crosses his (incredible) arms over his (even more incredible) chest, “You never have anything to say about my outfits at work,”

“That’s because they’re fairly neutral _suits_. But I do have some thoughts on that one bright red tie you wear sometimes.”

“Which are…?”

“It’s hideous. You need to burn it.” He deadpants but can’t help the smile that breaks through, followed by Shiro’s own. 

“Maybe you can do the honors sometime.”

“Oh, it’ll be my pleasure. Believe me,” Lance snorts, “Now, sunscreen.”

As he heads inside the bathroom he can hear Shiro fucking _whining,_ “Is it really necessary?”

Lance rolls his eyes and reaches for the bottle, “Don’t be a fucking baby, Shiro.”

“But I’m wearing long sleeves!”

“Your face isn’t! And now that I know you’re physically capable of whining I don’t look forward to having you sunburnt.”

Shiro grunts in frustration but promptly sits on the edge of the bed with a goddamn _pout_ on his lips. Lance was wrong, Shiro _is_ a fucking baby.

__

“Oh come on!” Lance snorts, “It’s not that bad.” 

__

“It’s all sticky and smells funny.” 

__

Lance can’t help but burst out laughing at that, “Yeah, I can name something else with the same description.” He just couldn’t _not_ make that joke when it’s being handed to him on a silver plate like that. 

__

Shiro stays silent as Lance tries to hold back his laughter. 

__

“I literally have no reaction to that,” he finally says. 

__

“I can think of a few…” Lance keeps teasing as he opens the bottle with a _pop_ and settles himself between Shiro’s legs. 

__

“Oh my god,” Shiro huffs and hides his face with a hand, “Are you torturing me? Is this what it is?”

__

“Yes,” _For the amount of sexual frustration I’m having to bear,_ “But you agreed to sunscreen so I’ll stop.” Lance squeezes a bit of the product and starts spreading with delicate strokes over Shiro’s forehead. 

__

“Thank you,” Shiro chuckles lightly, leaning his head backwards a little so Lance has better access, “I have to admit it was pretty funny though.”

__

“I can go on for _hours,_ big guy,” Lance bites his lip to refrain from snorting. Really, Shiro has to stop giving him such easy openings.

__

“ _Please,_ ” 

__

“Okay, okay,” 

__

Lance gets his act together — which is hard considering how fun it is to mess with Shiro’s composure — and applies the product on Shiro’s nose, taking extra care over the scar tissue. He is surprised by how good Shiro’s skin is considering the man probably hasn’t done skincare once in his entire life. Lance and his six different face products, can’t relate. 

__

He takes his sweet time spreading the sunscreen evenly across Shiro’s cheeks, jaw and chin, taking advantage of Shiro’s closed eyes, and let his own examine every bit of it. Shiro is so gorgeous. Lance has thought this a billion times already, yet it feels a lot more real when he is so close to Shiro like this. His eyelashes are so long, his lips are so _pink_ and only mere centimeters away. Lance just has to lean in and kiss it. Again. But for more than just seconds this time. Maybe a couple hours. 

__

Lance almost startles when he feels Shiro’s hand on his waist. His flesh hand is warm against Lance’s bare skin while the metal one is pleasantly cool. 

__

“Feels good,” Shiro mumbles, “And please don’t say anything else.” 

__

The brunette snickers in reply, but does as he’s told, gently inclining Shiro’s head backwards to have access to his pale neck. He spreads the sunscreen all over his hands and start rubbing Shiro’s neck with just enough pressure, sort of massaging it in a way Lance knows feels nice. A bold move perhaps, but Lance is not ready to get out of this little bubble just yet. The grip on his waist tightens so he must be doing something right. 

__

Lance watches with his lower lip between his teeth as Shiro swallows and slowly opens his eyes. His hands slide up to cradle Shiro’s jaw on a whim, just because it feels right to do so. The hold around Lance tugs him slightly forward, making their thighs bush against one another and send goddamn shivers to his legs. Lance is too absorbed in this fragile moment to think or do anything else other than lean in with Shiro’s lips as his goal. 

__

When they noses touch there’s a sudden loud, shrilling sound that jerks Lance’s body away from Shiro like he’s just been thrown a bucket of freezing water. _Oh, right. It’s called ‘reality’_. Lance stands a couple steps away, hands behind his back and cheeks burning hot, like a kid who got caught stealing cookies, while Shiro holds his arms up in the air like they are still around Lance’s waist. And then he watches as Shiro gradually turns the deepest shade of red on his cheeks. And down his _neck_. Cute. 

__

“That’s your business phone,” Lance blurts out. 

__

That seems to snap Shiro from his senses, “Right,” he jolts from the edge of the bed and starts exasperatedly looking for the source of the sound, groaning loudly when he finds it and quickly turning it off, “Uhg, it’s Matt.”

__

“Aren’t you going to answer? Must be something important.” 

__

“If it were, Holt would be the one calling,” Shiro tosses the phone on the bed carelessly, “Matt only calls me to be annoying.”

__

Lance makes a mental note to buy the priciest drink in the coffee shop for Matt when he gets back. They were about to _kiss._ Without anyone else in the room. What was Lance even _thinking_? Oh right, he _wasn’t._ Must be the excitement about going to the beach messing with his head. 

__

“Alright then,” Lance shrugs like absolutely none of that just happened, “We’re all set, let’s head downstairs.”

__

Shiro pauses for a second, “What about you?” 

__

Lance frowns, “What about me?” 

__

“Aren’t you going to put sunscreen on?” He asks likes it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

__

“Oh, I don't need it,” Lance brushes it off, he knows he will get a hard on if Shiro touches him the same way he just did so no more funny sunscreen business, “I never get sunburn. Great genes, I guess. Now come on, we’re wasting time arguing over _sunscreen._ ”

__

Recomposing himself, Lance almost leaps the entire way down to the beach, Shiro having a hard time keeping up with him down the staircase. He can’t help but be absolutely _thrilled_ with the idea of the ocean. No, not the idea. The ocean was right _there_. The fresh, salty water waiting to surround him, take over him. Lance hasn’t been in the sea for what feels like a lifetime and he can’t wait another minute to get in it. 

__

“Come on old man,” Lance playfully says over his shoulder. 

__

Lance had been waiting for the right time to swim since they arrived and the time has finally come. And he is weirdly happy Shiro is here with him.

__

His family is by the white gate, his mom setting up the umbrellas and his dad fussing with sunscreen over the little ones like Lance had been doing a moment ago with Shiro. Helena and Imani are nowhere to be seen, probably still making their way here from their apartment downtown.

__

“Good morning everybody,” Lance bites his lips and bounces on his feet, the clear, warm sand tingling under his toes.

__

Lauren who is spread over a towel with an unholy amount of tanning lotion all over his body peeks at Lance from the edge of his sunglasses, a tiny smile on his lips, “Just go, you moron.” 

__

And Lance goes.

__

He just _runs_ towards the ocean as fast as his legs allow him, leaving Shiro and Lauren’s complaints about sand getting in his mouth behind without a glance back, how could he when the glimmering blue water expands itself before him infinitely. 

__

When he reaches the water Lance wants to cry from joy. He runs faster and faster and he doesn’t stop until the depth is enough for him to dive in. 

__

Lance does laps, stays underwater until his lungs burn, floats above the surface and lets the calm, relaxing tide move his body around. In this moment the entire world feels _right._ All his concerns — and his back pain from sleeping on the floor — being washed away by every wave that passes through his body. 

__

He doesn’t know how long he stays in the water, enough to make his limbs ache and his lips dry. So with a little bit of hesitance he makes his way towards the shore where his family has finished setting up camp.

__

Helena and Imani have arrived in the meantime and are now comfortably sitting under the shadows of an umbrella while engaging in an apparently very exciting talk with Shiro considering how Helena fumbles her arms around. Shit. Shiro. Lance had completely forgotten about him and the consequences of leaving him alone with his family. But he is in a great fucking mood so all he does is approach them and stand there, a little breathless and a huge smile, water dripping from his body. 

__

“Miss me much?” 

__

“As if,” Helena snorts and hands him a bottle of cold water, she knows how thirsty he gets after swimming, “Shiro is so much funnier than you. You can go back to New York, I only need him at the wedding.”

__

“I doubt that very, very much,” Lance grins, “What were these peasants telling you, baby?” Lance asks, crouching down and supporting himself on Shiro’s knees, drinking the almost the entire bottle in one gulp. 

__

“About how you would wear a pirate costume all day long for a month,” Shiro chuckles and begins to play with Lance’s fingers.

__

Lance groans, “In my defense it was the coolest outfit an eight year old could get.” 

__

“I’m not judging you, baby, I did the same thing but with an astronaut one.”

__

“That is the cutest thing I’ve heard. Ever.” Helena says, “You two could be space pirates.”

__

“You are all so lame,” Lauren chimes in, standing up from where he had been sipping on coconut water, “Let’s play volleyball. Come on Shiro, help me with the net.” 

__

Lauren and Shiro head inside and Lance looks at their backs like they just said they were the Spice Girls. Just yesterday Lauren had been crushing Shiro’s hand between his own and now they’re all _setting up volleyball nets together_? 

__

“What exactly happened while I was swimming?” he turns to Helena, “Why is Lauren being friendly?” 

__

“One second I was talking to Shiro about the suit fittings, the next Lauren chimed in and they went into a heated argument about their favorite riders for this year's Equestrian Championship,” she shrugs.

__

Like it’s not fucking weird that Shiro knows about Equestrian Championships. Lance had no idea these things were _official events_ and his brother is a horse maniac. He really doesn't know Shiro at all, does he? 

“And you guys all wondered why I didn’t introduce him earlier.” 

__

“He’s a real a catch, Lancey.” Imani says gently, “And he really cares about you.”

__

_As if._

__

“Yeah, I know. I’m lucky.”

__

He doesn’t know and he isn’t lucky. 

__

Lance doesn't want his wonderful mood to be crushed by Shiro Talk, so he stands up again and decides to hang around the kids until Lauren and Shiro are done with the net. Lance _could_ help them, but making sand castles is way better. 

__

“All done!” Lauren shouts, “Lance and Helena with me,” _Demanding as always._

__

“Sorry baby, but we’ll crush you,” Lance pouts at Shiro.

__

“Oh is that so?” he quirks an eyebrow and crosses his arms. 

__

“One hundred percent,” Lance squints his eyes at the other, taking a couple steps to get in Shiro’s personal space to try and be intimidating. Which fails miserably because he would never look anything but a fool if he has to bend his neck that far to look up at Shiro. _Dammed height difference_ , “You _know_ I was Vice Captain of the volleyball team in college, _babe_.” 

__

“And you _know_ I was in a fraternity,” Shiro leans leans in even more, completely deleting the concept of personal space from this Universe. Lance would already be shaking in his trunks about the proximity but he is _hyped_. He wants to show Shiro just how fucking great of a player he is. 

____

“Wanna bet, big guy?”

____

“You’re on, _baby_.” Shiro fucking _smirks_. 

____

“Okay, lover boys, get your asses over here,” Helena shouts from where the net has been set up, throwing the ball at Lance’s sides to get their attention, “Team McClain Sibling versus Team Significant Others. This is gonna be—“ 

____

“ _Your_ significant others,” Lauren hisses, his posture is stiff and his teeth gritted. 

____

Helena winces, “Lauren, I forgot…” 

____

“Hold on,” Shiro looks around at the not crowded and yet not empty beach, he grabs the ball on the sand and approaches a skinny surfer who’s been chilling with his surfboard, “Hey! We’re out of players, wanna join?” 

____

“Sure,” the guy shrugs.

____

Lance squints at the immediate grateful look Lauren gives Shiro and wonders what exactly those two talked about when they were grabbing the net back at the house. 

____

“Perfect!” Helena gives Shiro a thumbs up and turns towards her siblings, “Now, brothers, don’t embarrass me. Let’s _crush them_.” 

____

“Since when do we ever lose at beach volleyball?” Lance rolls his eyes with a mischievous smirk. 

____

The three of them had basically grown up playing this game. Even after Lauren and Helena went away to college and Lance stayed under his parents wings for a little longer, whenever they visited they would spend hours long playing with total strangers and absolutely humiliating them. They were just too good. And also very competitive. 

____

It’s Shiro’s turn to serve. It’s good, but easily stoppable. 

____

“That was such an easy catch!” Lance yells over, “Do better, old man!”

____

“Playing this in the sand is harder than it looks, okay! And I’m not even that old.”

____

“Whatever makes you sleep at night, babe!” 

____

Lauren’s serve is ruthless and aggressively aimed at the surfist Shiro invited to play with them. The ball hits him hard and painful on the chest and even Lance winces with the sound it makes. 

____

Helena frowns, “Damn, take it easy Lauren.” 

____

“We never take it easy, Helena.”

____

Lauren serves at least three more times, all of them were hostile towards the new guy for some reason. Finally on the fourth serve, when everyone is starting to feel a little awkward by Lauren’s actions, Imani jumps in front of the guy and manages to retort the ball, finally scoring a point for their team — and sparing the guy some more bruises. 

____

As the game goes on, Lance and his siblings scores a point after the other. On the other side, only Imani can move swiftly in the sand, but Shiro is trying his best. His muscles on the other hand are certainly doing an amazing job at distracting Lance. Most of their points are due to Lance ogling Shiro’s abs peaking when his shirt rides up instead of the ball. 

____

They lose count of how many points Lance’s team has and decide to stop. Thankfully, because his legs and arms were starting to get sore and his soul is begging for another swim in the ocean. 

____

“I won!” Lauren shouts in delight, “Suck it.”

____

“ _We_ won, Lauren,” Helena crosses over the other side of the net and hugs Imani tight, “We’re still getting married, right?” Like she doesn’t know the answer to that already. 

____

Imani laughs, “Of course, silly. And you guys just won because Lauren scared that surfer away with his serves,” Imani laughs. 

____

“It was a fair enough game,” Shiro says while crossing over to Lance’s side and holding him by the waist, “I have to hand it to you though, you play really well.”

____

“ _Just_ really well?” Lance scoffs, hands easily finding its way to Shiro’s biceps, “Just say that I am the best volleyball player you’ve ever seen.”

____

“Never,” Shiro grins, “You won the bet thought. What do you want as your prize?” 

____

Oh. Shiro should know better than to say that kind of thing to Lance, he really should. Especially with their bodies as close as they are right now. But of course Lance would never even think of asking any of his initial ideas to Shiro.  

____

Lance ponders for a second, “Get in the ocean with me?” 

____

“Ah,” Shiro looks down with a sorrowful expression, “Sorry, Lance, but the prosthetic…” 

____

“Hey, it’s fine, big guy,” he strokes Shiro’s oh so incredible biceps (yes, he is taking a little advantage of the moment, sue him), “How about ice-cream instead? And a walk down the shore? We can bring the kids along too.”

____

“Okay,” Shiro opens such an honest smile it makes Lance’s heart clench, “We can do that.”

____

“Grab the wallet, I’ll grab the kids. There’s an ice cream shack right over there and then we can just walk as they pick some shells.” 

____

Shiro snorts, “Yes, honey.” 

____

The kids immediately cooperate when they’re told Shiro is buying ice-cream, they probably love him even more now. Lance is pretty sure he heard Matteo referring to Shiro as Superman. 

____

They stop by the shack and Lance smiles at the employee, “Good evening! Two chocolate, one strawberry, one watermelon and…?” he looks at Shiro with expectancy.

____

“Vanilla, please.”

____

Lance grins teasingly, “Oh so you’re a vanilla type of guy?”

____

“Want to find out?” Shiro teases _back_. Which is totally unfair because Lance _does_ want to find out but Shiro definitely doesn’t need to know that 

____

“That’s bayback, isn’t it? For earlier today?” 

____

“You deserve it,” Shiro smiles to the employee and takes all five popsicles in his hand. 

____

“How did you know I love to be punished?” Lance crouches down and hands over the popsicles to the kids who start devouring it immediately. He grabs Maria’s hand free hand and gestures so Shiro will do the same with Joaquin, Matteo is well behaved enough to not run around so he gets out of the Hand Holding Leash, as Lance likes to call. 

____

“If I had known that I would have made you revise the current project we’re working on,” he sighs and Lance can see Shiro’s worries surface for the first time that day.

____

“How’s it going, by the way? I was surprised you didn’t send me any drafts.”

____

“It’s… complicated. We had to start from scratch since the clients want something completely different. Holt says everything is under control, but I wish I could handle this better.”

____

Lance looks down at his watermelon popsicle, “If… if you want to go back to New York we can tell them you had a business emergency. They’ll understand. They’ve met you and fallen for it, this whole shebang will be over.” 

____

His guts twist unpleasantly inside him. Lance has been saying how awful, how inconvenient this situation is, but today has made him realize how he is actually enjoying all of it once he let go of his paranoia (for the most part). It saddens him in a way to think about things ending when he is starting to have fun. 

____

“No, I don’t want to go back,” is all Shiro says. It makes Lance smile a little. That is good right? Even though Shiro probably isn’t that entertained with having to touch (and even kiss) Lance, at least the food is amazing and the change of environment must be good for Shiro’s overworked self. 

____

“Okay.” Is all Lance replies. 

____

The kids finish their popsicles and start their search for pretty seashells. Lance gathers their trash to throw it away in a nearby can and warns them to not wander off or no more popsicles. _Ever._ That seems to do the trick because every few steps the children keep looking back at Lance and Shiro. 

____

Lance wordlessly reaches for Shiro’s hand, intertwining their fingers casually, like it’s no big deal. And maybe it isn’t a big deal. They’re supposed to be a couple, right? Couples hold hands all the time so it’s only natural. Except they’re far away from the people who can see through their lie. But Lance couldn’t care less about that when the ocean hit their feet and Shiro doesn’t flinch or pull away. 

____

They talk some more about work but quickly change topics as Shiro sports a constant frown. Lance tells Shiro some of his college stories with Lotor and Allura, Shiro tells Lance about his senior year adventures with Keith. Who would have guessed that Shiro is the type of guy to wrap a house in toilet paper? Lance expected more from him. _Tsk_. Now he knows who would win in a prank war.

____

“I’ve said this before, but my family is totally smitten with you,” Lance says mindlessly, “Even Lauren opened up to you. I demand to know what you two talked about, by the way.” 

____

“That’s a secret.”

____

Lance eyes Shiro, who’s giving soft, melancholic eyes at his siblings collecting shells in front of them. Lance remembers Shiro’s reaction to being hugged by his parents, and how Shiro never mentioned family when they were telling things about each other on the plane. Curiosity eventually gets the best of him.

____

“Do you… have a big family?” Lance asks hesitantly, not sure if the question would make Shiro uncomfortable. 

____

Shiro seems to ponder for a moment, seeming very focused on his ice cream before speaking, “Not really. My parents passed away when I was very little so I don’t remember them that much. My grandma took care of me ever since I can remember to be honest… but then she too, passed away before I graduated high school. So… no big family. Or any at all.” he grimaces, eyes the most far off Lance has ever seen. 

____

He pictures Shiro having to deal with his grandmother’s death during _high school_ and graduating with no one there for him. How desperate and lonely it must have felt during college and family holidays. Lance only now has a tiny grasp of how hard life treated Shiro before he became the rich, successful CEO he is now. Hell, life probably still plays its tricks on him and Lance wants to throw fists on Whoever Is Up There’s face. 

____

Lance swallows the lump in his throat, placing his hand over Shiro’s own and looking in those beautiful hazel-grey eyes, desperately trying to convey his compassion, “They all would have been so proud of you, Shiro. I know they would.” 

____

“Thank you, Lance,” Shiro smiles softly, almost sentimental, like he needed to hear those words. 

____

Ah. How Lance wants to kiss him. Right here, with the gentle waves of the sea washing their feet, right now, with the sun setting behind them in beautiful oranges. The perfect kiss. Lance just has to wrap his arms around Shiro’s neck and pull him down until their lips touch. 

____

_Yeah, and then the angels come in._

____

“Lancey, I’m hungry,” Maria whines, tugging at Lance’s trunks, Joaquin and Matteo behind her arguing about who’s got the prettiest shells.

____

“Of course,” Lance takes a moment to get back to earth, “Let’s go back then, we’re doing a campfire and making s’mores!” The children cheer together and start throttling ahead of them with their tiny buckets full of shells. 

____

“S’mores?” 

____

Lance looks at Shiro like he grew a third eye, “Shiro, please. _Please_ , tell me you’ve had s’mores before.”

____

He shrugs, “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

____

“I can’t believe I’ll witness Takashi Shirogane having his first s’more,” Lance shakes his head in amusement, “Should I call the press? Maybe sell this to tabloids? I do need a new TV.” 

____

“You do?” Shiro ponders, “I can buy you a new one.”

____

“Uh…” it takes a moment for Lance to process that, “No, you don’t have to. I know you’re like super rich and all, but I should be the one showering you with gifts for even agreeing to this.” 

____

“Well, I do owe you a birthday present, don’t I?”

____

“No you don’t.” 

____

“I think I do.” They finally reach Lance’s family once more. Lance’s patience also reaches his limit for some reason. 

____

“Well,” Lance crosses his arms over his chest, “You thought wrong. You have no obligations with me, Shiro.” 

____

“I know,” Shiro says nonchalantly but there’s a little pout forming on his lips, “But I also know you like gifts, so I thought…”

____

Damn. Lance is a weak man. Especially for Shiro. 

____

He exhales, “Fine! It better have Netflix.” 

____

Shiro smiles and clasp their hands together once more, walking towards the camp. Lance can’t even pretend to be grumpy when his heart races like this. 

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm thinking about writing this story through shiro's pov as a separate work, with mostly the same events but also new ones such as the campfire from this chapter! so (youtuber voice) let me know in the comments what you guys think about that!! 
> 
> find me on twitter: @shircganes <3


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